Arriving in Australia 12 hours late left us stuck in a Sydney airport hotel overnight. Well, not quite the airport, but rather Brighton Le Sands, where Ocean Heart Seafood is the leading takeaway joint in the neighbourhood. Fresh fish and seafood (with genuine chips) abound, and customers line up at 10 o'clock at night for the fare. With sauces from the establishment, we had sautéed halibut and scampi - probably deep fried would have been better, with worth a detour fries. All of this would certainly have benefitted by being washed down with a local wine, but local beer from the Brighton Le Sands sports club had to suffice.

We finally arrived at Arthur's Seat, the pinnacle of the Mornington Peninsula land mass, the next night. To get there, we climbed the road from the north, more or less following the path of the recently demised chair lift, to Georges, where we were greeted by Margaret and Stan. Georges, designed to house a live-in cooking school, but offering bed and Margaret-cooked brekkies in the intervals, provides a most spectacular view looking north across Phillip's Bay to Melbourne, about 100 kilometres away. After climbing to the precipice, an omelette would be a perfect end to the day rather than having to make the trek down and back up again. Stan came to the rescuer, sending us the other way over to The Long Table at Red Hill South, easily reached from the south side of Arthur's Seat. There, spring was on the menu, including fresh local asparagus, with delicately fried local oysters. This only describes the ingredients, but does not do justice to the dish itself. A glass of 2005 Scorpo Pinot Gris made it even better. This wine was magic. Medium bodied, aromas of pears and apples, crisp but plenty of length. Locally, Scorps's wines are a legend. Very well made, and very popular among the cognoscenti, an air of eccentricity which adds to their lustre.

Lucy chose the Stonier 2005 Pinot Noir with her main, realizing when she dug in that here was another of the peninsula's best. Full and rich, more Californian than Burgundian. Red and black berries on the palate and lots of length. Very good.

After breakfast by Margaret, to Phillips Island, luckily via the monthly Red Hill market. What an experience, although we misjudged the time and missed the doughnuts.

While en route we found the wonderful Mornington Peninsula Chocolate Shop. We knew that Johnny Depp has been an inspiration to many, but this was the tops. The owners were "otherwise engaged" when they were inspired to take a chance, and wow, did they get it right. Outside Paris or Brussels at twice the price, these converts use fresh local produce to show Australia is a world chocolate leader.

A quick visit around the corner to Mornington's best, and perhaps Australia's best Pinot Noir producer at Paringa Estate. We decided to limit ourselves to the 2006 Estate at $60 rather than the 2005 Reserve at $90. We admit that the Reserve was a rich mouthful of black cherry berry flavours, but the Estate was also terrific, drinkable sooner and $90 is a lot of money, even for the best Aussie Pinot.

Neither great food nor great wine were found on Phillip Island, where everyone was talking about the motorcycle races the following week.

We escaped Phillip Island after Lucy was swooped by a magpie, and we narrowly avoided a (small) brown snake. We then ferried to the west and the Great Ocean Road, built by the returning servicemen from WWI that managed to escape with their lives from Gallipoli. Apart from fresh fish from the monger with local wine on a night on our own at the Point, overlooking the incredible Apollo Bay, the next unexpected experience was had at Chris's nearby. This is European elegance in the middle of nowhere.  Like the Point, there is an incredible view of the Southern Ocean. The service was wanting, but the food almost made up for it. We had John Dorey with quenelles of olives, peppers and tomatoes and eggplant over Potatoes Lyonnais. Excellent with a bottle of Mornington Pinot Noir.