Peninsula This Weekend - 30 to 31 May

Peninsula This Weekend is our weekly dispatch: the plan we’d actually make for the weekend ahead, the booking worth locking in, and the bit of weekend thinking we’d happily do for you.

The season turns on Saturday. Main Ridge runs its last Wild Mushroom Forage of the year at 11am. On the same plateau, within the same hour, Red Hill Truffles opens the first Périgord black truffle hunt of 2026. One chapter closes; another begins. The Peninsula has its own calendar, and this weekend is the pivot.

Twelve degrees, grey, some chance of rain. The King’s Birthday weekend arrives in seven days with its wine trails and winter crowds. This one sits in the quieter space just before all of that.

The booking worth locking in

Red Hill Truffles, opening day of the 2026 truffle season, Saturday 30 May

The Périgord black truffle season runs through August, but opening weekend carries a different quality of attention. The dogs work the Main Ridge property in short sessions; the nose for ripe truffle is either present or it isn’t, and watching it work is the point. The Red Hill Estate lunch option is the complete version: hunt in the morning, then the meal built from what the morning found. The pizza hunt is the right entry for first-timers.

Book now. This is the opening day of the season. Red Hill Truffles is one of the Peninsula’s most consistently in-demand winter bookings. Opening weekend fills quickly.

Sessions from 11am. Bookings via redhilltruffles.com.

The slower companion move

The Enchanted Market at The Briars, Sunday 31 May, Mount Martha

The Enchanted Market runs every two to three months at The Briars Wildlife Reserve in Mount Martha. It has no fixed date, and most Peninsula visitors don’t know it exists. Sunday 31 May is this quarter’s edition.

The market is part of it. The Briars reserve is the rest: boardwalks through native bush, kangaroos and emus as incidental neighbours, a proper wildlife loop that takes another hour if you want it. The combination is free, walk-in, and works in any weather that isn’t heavy rain. From 10am Sunday.

The local edge

MPRG and Lander-Se, final weekend, Mornington

Three exhibitions close Sunday 31 May. New Wave 26 and the Michael Vale solo show are both at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery on Dunns Road. The TRACE Duo Exhibition closes the same day at Lander-Se, a short walk away. All three are free, no booking required, open Tuesday to Sunday 11am–4pm.

The natural shape: late morning, an hour between both venues, then Main Street Mornington for lunch. It handles any weather, costs nothing for the gallery component, and after Sunday these shows are gone.

Red Hill Truffles, opening day of the 2026 season Sat 30 May, sessions from 11am, Main Ridge Pizza hunt and Red Hill Estate lunch formats; current prices on the operator’s site Book via redhilltruffles.com, bookings required

The Enchanted Market at The Briars Sun 31 May, from 10am, Mount Martha Free entry, walk-in. Outdoor event, weather dependent.

MPRG and Lander-Se, final weekend Dunns Road Mornington, Tue–Sun 11am–4pm New Wave 26, Michael Vale, and TRACE Duo all close Sunday 31 May. Free, no booking.

Prices may change. Confirm current rates directly with each operator before booking.