Rain Hayne and Shine Farmyard – Pier 10 Winery – Flinders Playground – Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery
By Julia Swift
Spring is here! And it’s such a great time to explore our Peninsula – Check out our perfect way to spend a family day out.
This Itinerary is a full day trip to make the most of that beautiful spring weather.
We started the day at Rain Hayne and Shine Farmyard at 10am. This rustic working farm has such a range of cute animals. The front paddocks are home to a cheeky donkey, mischievous goats, and cute calves. Take your time hanging out with the goats who love to be fed. In the next paddock we got to pat and cuddle the super adorable new kids and baby lambs. Spring is a perfect time to visit the farm to see plenty of baby animals. If you time it right, you may even get to give one a bottle!
Down in the back paddocks we checked out the emus, wallabies and a dingo before heading over to the central barn, on the way passing by chickens, geese, cockatoos and peacocks. In the barn the kids loved cuddling the bunnies, guinea pigs, and even piglets. Be sure to let the kids jump on a pony ride (only $2) – and the whole family can enjoy a tractor ride together.
The farm is currently open 10am-4pm. Family entry is a bargain at $40 for 2 adult and 2 kids. Make sure you take cash as no EFTPOS available. We also used our voucher from the Penny Saver for a half price family ticket! Great value.
We spent two and a half hours here before heading over to a delicious lunch at Pier 10.
Pier 10 is a lovely rustic local winery based in Shoreham. It was started back in 1995, and is still a small family-owned and run vineyard, restaurant and cellar door. It is home to vines of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.
As you turn into the driveway you are met by a beautifully presented cottage style kitchen garden, with the blue barn to the right housing the main restaurant and adorable cottage style house on the left housing the cellar door, more dining space and wraparound deck perfect for sitting out on these spring days enjoying a glass of vino.
We were greeted by Stuart and his wonderful front-of-house team. Our table overlooked the green vines and grassed area perfect for the kids to run around on while we waited for our meal. And what a meal it was! The a-la-carte menu at the time of our visit featured a huge range of delicious choices! Think pork belly, eye fillets, duck and gnocchi. And mouth watering sweets.
We opted for the eye fillet, and gnocchi for our mains and berry crumble and homemade honeycomb for our dessert. Both washed down with a glass of their smooth Pinot Noir. The food was just outstanding and we couldn’t fault it in any way.
They also have a kids menu; just ask to see what is on offer for your visit.
After our lunch we stepped into the cellar door for a wine tasting. Craig was our super-knowledgeable Sommelier who took us through the Pier 10 wines on offer. He is passionate about all things wine, local and abroad and we could have chatted for ages about wine! It was a great way to cap off our visit there and sample what this winery has to offer, as well as take home a cheeky bottle or two!
Over spring they will also be hosting local live music acts on Sundays 12-3. Pier 10 is open for lunch Thursday – Sunday and dinner Friday and Saturday nights.
We farewelled Pier 10 and headed just down the road to Flinders. The town has a great kids’ playground and we head there a lot. Set in a large grassy park, the central natural-looking playground is home to swings, slides and climbing equipment. We let the kids run some energy off there before heading just down the road to Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery at Flinders.
This working chocolate factory is every kids’ (and big kids’) dream. With wall-to-wall chocolate and an ice cream case to be amazed by, allow about an hour there. 4 – 5 pm works well with this itinerary.
Make sure you try the chocolate samples on offer, or ask the staff to sample any of the 180 varieties on offer. We grabbed the kids a milkshake and hot chocolates for us. Perfect late afternoon treats.
Mornington Peninsula chocolaterie is open every day (except Christmas Day) 9-5. And at time of printing held gourmet tasting sessions every day at 10, 12, 2 and 4. No booking is needed and is only $3 per person.
They also offer a great range of chocolate workshops including kids classes.
A perfect way to spend a spring day on the Peninsula.
