Road trip: Lakes Entrance to Red Hill

After breakfast we had a quick walk round Lakes Entrance. It is supposed to be a popular tourist destination for Victorians, but I found the main strip a bit drab and depressing. Uninspiring shops that all looked like they had seen better days and many were closed. We didn't head out to the main beach (which is supposed to be nice), but from the parts of town that we did see I'm not sure what the appeal of Lakes Entrance was!

We had a long morning of driving across to the Mornington Peninsula. We stopped for a coffee in Moe. Clearly no fans of the Simpson's in the town as there was no Moe's Bar or Duff beer on offer. I think they missed a marketing trick....

I have only dipped a toe in the Mornington Peninsula before this visit. However, I'd been told it was a top tourist destination so was expecting us to be falling over lots of nice café options for lunch. We were all pretty hungry by the time we arrived in Red Hill for a late lunch. The cafés were proving more elusive to find than hoped and we had to stop and ask directions in the Red Hill petrol station. As is often the way, for the rest of the afternoon we couldn't stop driving past enticing looking places.

After lunch we popped into Ten Minutes by Tractor and Port Phillip Estate to do some wine tasting. I was surprised to find out, unlike in the Hunter Valley, paying for tastings seemed to be the norm. The Port Phillip Winery is in a magnificent James Bond villain style building. Modernist, concrete, with electronic doors that open automatically as you open them, sharp lines and fabulous panoramic views of the vines. I can't comment on the wines as I was the dedicated driver for the afternoon...

After the wine tasting we headed back to our rented cabin to light the wood burning stove and put out some bird seed to attract the local wildlife. The cabin was freezing! We stacked the wood burning stove full of logs, pushed the sofa within a dangerous distance of the fire and snuggled under a blanket.

Unfortunately I started feeling quite ill during the evening. Annoyingly I caught a bug which stayed with me for another week.