MORNINGTON GLORY

As road marks go, a giant silver garden gnome is a pretty good one,

not something you are likely to miss glinting in the sun as you cruise

down the Peninsula Link from Melbourne to the Mornington

Peninsula. Sighting sculptor Gregor Kregar’s nine-metre-tall

stainless-steel artwork, titled Reflective Lullaby, sets off an almost

Pavlovian reaction in me; I know I am inching ever closer to my final

destination and excitement starts to flutter in my stomach.

Located just over an hour’s drive from the city centre,

the Mornington Peninsula is a wonderland of pretty towns, rolling

countryside, wide beaches and, more importantly as the flutter of

excitement turns to hunger pangs, a fertile foodie haven.

Off the highway and navigating the quiet backroads to the

settlement of Red Hill, I pass stud farms and wineries. I’m tempted

to stop at a cherry farm to sample the wares, but resolve to push on

towards Arthurs Seat Road, named for the granite hill of Arthurs

Seat, the highest viewpoint on the peninsula.

Lindenderry at Red Hill is to be my base for the next day or so,

a graciously luxurious 40-room boutique hotel sitting amongst 13

hectares of gardens and grape vines. Within the grand white facade,

celebrated Melbourne design studio Hecker Guthrie has reimagined

the interiors, installing sleek furnishings and a sophisticated colour

palette. There are numerous lounge areas in which to relax, and the

rooms are a study in quiet comfort, with crisp linens on the expansive

king bed and Molton Brown goodies in the spacious bathroom. It is

too warm to light the fireplace, but I am sorely tempted, just to get

the full effect of the room that was surely imagined in the design.

I take my lunch to go, in the form of a picnic basket that almost

groans under the weight of the treats within: a fresh bread stick;

AUSTRALIANTRAVELLER.COM 101

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Australia’s STUNNING produce and WINES have earned an enviable

REPUTATION in recent decades. Now, any foray out and about is a FOOD

JOURNEY, whether you’re grabbing a coffee with a view, FEASTING on

amazing restaurant design, or taking time out on a GOURMET ESCAPE,

like Leigh-Ann Pow did in one of Victoria’s most DELICIOUS regions.