Visit Heronswood Café...
famous garden, fabulous food
Beachside
Dromana,
Safety Beach
and McCrae
The sweep of sand between Safety Beach
are centrally located on the
Peninsula for holiday-makers
and Blairgowrie is still one of Victoria's best
to enjoy the safe Bay
beaches and surrounding
loved summer playgrounds. The foreshores
attractions especially the
of Dromana, McCrae, Rosebud and Rye are
Arthurs Seat Tourist Precinct
and Peninsula Wine Country.
dotted with countless piers and jetties.
PicturedewedeTheéaHeronswoodn(ureer1y59 C-95)
Open 7 days a - k. Caf 10 -3.30 , garden & thatched
s
9
am
pm
am
pm.
105 Latrob P e Drom na, Ph (03) 5984 7318 M l
Dromana
roof café is the perfect place to
nestles
indulge for lunch or just revive your
between the twin peaks of
spirits with great coffee and cake.
THINGS TO DO
Arthurs Seat and Mt Martha.
Open 10am to 4pm .
IN DrOmaNa, mcCrae
Well kept foreshore lawns
provide picnic shelters and
aND SafeTy beaCH
playgrounds while the long sweep of beach between Anthony's Nose
and Safety Beach is always a magnet for day trippers, all year round.
· arthurs Seat Precinct
The long main street runs parallel to the beach and comes to life in
· Visit martha Cove
summer. A stop at the bright yellow visitor information centre will give
· a multitude of quality wineries
you your bearings and volunteers will be happy to send you in the
including
direction of Dromana's green thumb feature:
- Stillwater at Crittendens, rest. &
Heronswood Gardens
Cellar Door Ph. 5981 9555
These gardens are open everyday except Christmas and if they take
- five Sons estate. Ph. 5987 3137
your breath away (there are no less than three separate vegetable
- See our Wine Country pages from
gardens on site) you're welcome to try to replicate the wonder in
90-91 for further details
your own garden by purchasing Diggers seeds and plants from the
National Trust classified garden shop. Yes, at this historic site even
· foreshore and pier
the garden shop is classified.
· Dromana & District Historic Society
Head up the hairpin bends to the ear-popping peak of Arthurs Seat
- mcCrae Homestead, beverley rd
(a popular challenge for motorbike riders but God help the peddle-
- mcCrae Lighthouse and beach
pushers) and you'll find Seawinds Garden as well as places to eat
· Two Bays & Bunarong Walking Tracks
and drink while you lap up the wonderful views of the Peninsula,
Melbourne and the You Yangs.
The chairlift is out of action, but there are plenty of other things to
do in the area. Cruise down Purves Road past the Maze (one of two
on the Peninsula), visit Charlies Auto Museum and suddenly you're
back in the rural Peninsula zone; home of trail rides, unsealed roads
and paddocks.
McCrae
is a charming
small township with some
exceptional. Featres - Lovely
beach, fascinating lighthouse,
superb scenery and interesting
history including the McCrae
Homestead (from which it takes
its name). McCrae Homestead,
built on the lower slopes of
Arthurs Seat in 1844, is one of
the few remaining homes built
from local stringy-bark drawn
from the top of the mountain.
McCrae Homestead was built in
1844 and is open on weekends
during winter, but it sits close to
the road so if you don't get in
you can still have a squiz from
the roadside. It's amazing that
such a historic building is now just one amongst the many modern
houses surrounding it on the street.
The lighthouse, hard to miss on McCrae's main road, was only
decommissioned in 1994, and is on Victoria's Historical Buildings
Register. At 33.5 metres tall, it's the tallest lighthouse in the Port
Phillip Bay area.
Between McCrae's main attractions are cafes & galleries, so pop
in for a caffeine or art fix between history lessons.
- Jayne D'Arcy
58
Peninsula Visitor . . . Autumn / Winter 2009
