A couple of weeks ago, we had mid-semester break at university and even though the weather forecast was not overly promising, we very last minute booked a little weekend trip to the Mornington Peninsula.
Our itinerary for the weekend was to go to the Peninsula Hot Springs, the beach and to a Craft Market at the Mornington Racecourse. We successfully completed all our planned activities but let me tell you – we had to face a handful of challenges.
Nonetheless, I can highly recommend taking a trip to the hot springs. Soaking in mineral waters is not only super relaxing but has a lot of health benefits. As the water is boiling hot, it’s certainly not only a good weather activity. Going at night-time is also a great idea – pair a starry sky with trees decorated with fairy lights and it almost looks magic.
The beach at the peninsula is definitely worth a visit, too and even if it was still a bit to cold to go swimming in the start of September, we were at least able to do a little coastal walk. There is also a Craft Market at the Mornington Racecourse every second Sunday of the month. We got our KAT flared pants at the market which inspired the whole trip.
So far so good, but as aforementioned the weekend was a bit of an adventure. For car-owners located in Melbourne, a trip to the Mornington Peninsula might sound like a little daytrip but let me tell you: with public transport it is an interesting journey. In theory, it’s not that difficult to get from Melbourne to the peninsula – take a train to Frankston, hop on a bus and arrive within let’s say two hours. Well, this is not how our weekend went. Here are a couple of things that I learnt:
- I am a country-side girl. How could I forget, that public transport in the middle of nowhere cannot be compared to the city! Don’t even dare to think it’s going to be easy if you have to change buses multiple times. Chances that you face hours of waiting time, get out at the wrong stop and drive in the opposite direction is guaranteed. Not even Google Maps is going to save you from the unpredictable nature of bus journeys. Plus – at night-time you are not going to get anywhere. Try walking!
- If you decide to take a trip in the Woop Woop, don’t even consider booking an accommodation that is even more remote. It’s not going to make life easier for you, I promise.
- If your accommodation ever gets overbooked, I wish you the best of luck. Especially if it is the only accommodation in miles and getting there (as well as leaving from there) involves taking more buses than you can count and an hour-long hike along a major street in the pouring rain. However, if you think you can’t get more unfortunate and have come across numerous super unhelpful people, I can only urge you to not loose faith in humanity. All bad luck will eventually be equalled out with good luck!
- My last and probably most important conclusion is to laugh away all unfortunate circumstances that you may be facing. Even if a one-hour journey may end up taking eight hours, don’t let it ruin a fun trip. (Yes, we eventually arrived at the hot springs – by the time we arrived it was pitch-black, we where soaked and still didn’t have a place to stay, but whatever.)
All in all, I had a great and very eventful weekend and I am glad we went to Mornington. It is undoubtedly a destination that I can 100% recommend. However, would I go back there with public transport? Probably not. So, if you have a car or steady nerves, why not do a spontaneous trip to Mornington Peninsula?
See ya xx
Julia
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