WINE - Avani Wines, Red Hill South
Avani’s Amrit Syrah is the reason to drive to Shands Road right now. The 2024 vintage just joined the tasting list, and spring is the right moment to taste it: the cellar door is quieter than summer, the vines are shooting, and there is enough warmth to sit outside with a glass rather than rush back to the car.
The estate farms biodynamically, and the difference shows most clearly in the skin-contact whites - a textural, savoury style that works well before you move to the Syrah. The Amrit single-vineyard range is the one to focus on. These are wines with opinions, not crowd-pleasers, which is precisely why this estate attracts the Peninsula’s more serious wine drinkers and relatively few first-timers.
Book ahead. The tasting room is small and the team takes the conversation seriously. Allow 90 minutes. Shands Road, Red Hill South.
Pair the visit with lunch at Tedesca Osteria, fifteen minutes north on the ridge.
WALK - Bushrangers Bay Clifftop Loop, Balnarring Beach
The Bushrangers Bay track is at its best in October. Coastal tea-tree and wattle are flowering along the clifftop section, the grass is still green before summer burns it off, and the track is dry enough after winter to walk fast without sliding on the descent to the bay.
The loop runs roughly 5km return from the car park at the end of Stumpy Gully Road. The clifftop section faces Western Port and catches the north-east breeze most spring mornings. At the bay itself, a small beach sits between two headlands - largely empty on weekdays, busier on weekends but never at Sorrento-scale. The native orchids along the ridge section between the car park and the first headland are worth slowing down for: spider orchids and sun orchids both appear in this stretch through October.
Park at Bushrangers Bay car park, Stumpy Gully Road, Balnarring Beach. Allow 90 minutes. No booking required.
Pair with coffee and a pastry at Balnarring Bakehouse on the return drive.
DISCOVERY - Acoustic Saturdays at Peppers Moonah Links, Fingal
Peppers Moonah Links is running live acoustic sets every Saturday evening through to late December, and the October window is the sweet spot. The crowd is local rather than peak-season tourist, the light at 5pm is long and flat across the links, and the outdoor space has warmed up enough to make the 5–8pm slot genuinely comfortable.
This is not a festival. It is a single act per session, amplified acoustically in the resort’s outdoor dining area, with drinks service running alongside. The format suits people who want music in the background of a conversation more than those chasing a headline set. What makes it worth going this Saturday specifically: the first proper warm spring weekend evenings are arriving now, and the later sets through December will attract larger summer crowds. The October sessions are the calm version.
Peppers Moonah Links, Golf Links Drive, Fingal. Sessions run Saturdays 5pm–8pm. Check the Mornington Peninsula Shire events page and the resort directly for bookings.
Pair the evening with dinner in the Moonah Links restaurant before or after the set.
Quick reference
| Pick | Address | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Avani Wines | Shands Road, Red Hill South | Book ahead; tasting room small; Amrit Syrah 2024 now pouring |
| Bushrangers Bay Loop | Stumpy Gully Road, Balnarring Beach | ~5km return; 90 min; no booking; orchids on clifftop section in October |
| Acoustic Saturdays | Golf Links Drive, Fingal (Peppers Moonah Links) | Every Saturday 5–8pm through late December; check resort for bookings |
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Questions readers actually ask
FAQ
Where is Avani Wines and do I need to book?
Avani Wines is on Shands Road, Red Hill South. Book ahead via their website - the tasting room is small and fills on spring weekends.
How long is the Bushrangers Bay walk and where does it start?
The Bushrangers Bay coastal loop is approximately 5km return. Park at the Bushrangers Bay car park off Stumpy Gully Road, Balnarring Beach, and follow the clifftop track south. Allow 90 minutes.
What time does Acoustic Saturdays start at Peppers Moonah Links?
Acoustic Saturdays at Peppers Moonah Links, Golf Links Drive, Fingal, runs every Saturday from 5pm to 8pm through to late December. Check the Mornington Peninsula Shire events page for the booking link.
