WINING + DINING
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
