Moke Dining, Flinders - Michael Cole placed fourteenth at Bocuse d’Or. His room on Cook Street seats twenty people and runs a single weekly-changing five-course menu. There is no à la carte decision to agonise over, no wine list to second-guess without help. The kitchen sends what it wants to send, and what it wants to send right now in spring is worth the drive to Flinders.
October is the moment the menu shifts decisively: the stone fruit is gone, the first asparagus arrives, and Cole works with the sort of precision that makes you notice the gap between a meal that is technically correct and one that is actually thought through. The room is small enough that the pace is set by the kitchen, not the clock. Saturday lunch is the session to book.
Walk the cliff path from the Flinders foreshore to West Head beforehand - it puts you in the right frame of mind. Book ahead at the Moke website; the room fills weeks out.
Pair with an afternoon at Georgie Bass Cafe & Cookery on Cook Street before you leave Flinders.
Bushrangers Bay Track, Cape Schanck - The boardwalk section from the Cape Schanck car park to Bushrangers Bay is one of the better coastal walks on the Peninsula at any time of year. In early October it is the correct walk. The coastal scrub either side of the track is carrying wattle, tea-tree, and the first of the coastal daisies right now, and the swell at Bushrangers Bay runs clean after the last of the winter swells push through.
The full return from the Cape Schanck Lighthouse car park on Boneo Road takes around ninety minutes without rushing. The boardwalk keeps the first section straightforward, but the descent to the beach is loose sand over rock, so wear shoes rather than thongs. The bay at the bottom is a swimming beach in good conditions; check the weather the night before.
Allow two hours door to door. No booking required. Parking at the Cape Schanck Lighthouse car park off Boneo Road.
Pair with a late lunch at Moke Dining on Cook Street in Flinders, eight minutes inland.
Hill & Ridge Community Market, Red Hill Recreation Reserve - Saturday 3 October - The Hill & Ridge Market runs on the first Saturday of each month and draws a genuinely local crowd: growers from the Red Hill and Merricks hinterland, a strong bakery contingent, and enough serious produce to make a week’s worth of cooking easy decisions. This is not a craft-fair market with a few vegetables on the side.
October is one of the better months to go. Spring produce from the ridge farms is arriving in quantity - expect asparagus, early-season strawberries, and cut flowers from the small growers who supply the restaurants on the hill. The community recreation reserve setting keeps it unhurried; the stall density is high enough to be useful without the crowd pressure of the larger Peninsula markets.
Saturday 3 October, 9am–2pm, Red Hill Recreation Reserve, Red Hill. Entry is free. Arrive by 10am if you want first pick of the baked goods.
Pair with a midday lunch at Merricks General Wine Store, fifteen minutes south through the hinterland.
Key Details
Moke Dining Cook Street, Flinders VIC 3929 Five-course set menu, Saturday lunch and dinner sittings Book ahead: mokdining.com.au
Bushrangers Bay Track Start: Cape Schanck Lighthouse car park, Boneo Road, Cape Schanck VIC 3939 ~90 min return. No booking. Free entry. Open daily.
Hill & Ridge Community Market Red Hill Recreation Reserve, Red Hill VIC 3937 Saturday 3 October 2026, 9am–2pm Free entry. hillandridgemarket.com.au
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Questions readers actually ask
FAQ
How do I book Moke Dining in Flinders?
Moke Dining is at Cook Street, Flinders. It seats twenty people and runs a fixed five-course menu. Book well ahead through the Moke website - Saturday lunch fills fastest.
Where does the Bushrangers Bay track start and how long does it take?
The track starts at the Cape Schanck car park off Boneo Road. The return walk to Bushrangers Bay takes around 90 minutes at an easy pace. Wear shoes with grip; the boardwalk sections are fine but the beach approach can be sandy and uneven.
What time does the Hill & Ridge Community Market run?
The Hill & Ridge Community Market runs Saturday 3 October 2026, 9am–2pm at Red Hill Recreation Reserve, Red Hill. Entry is free.
