Many of our guests book a one night stay with us on their way from or to the Great Ocean Road. After all, Port is a perfect place to begin the journey, or finish on a high. But what our guests don't realise is that to truly enjoy this place one night just isn't enough, with many realising too late that they should have stayed a little longer.  We receive a lot of reviews like these ones:

"Wish we had more time to stay so we could show our guests more of the area, but unfortunately we only had the one night."

"This house is utter PERFECTION. Totally beautiful, incredible location on the harbour and such a lovely homely place with everything you need. We wished we could’ve stayed longer."

So, here's our ideal getaway itinerary for a three night stay.  Of course, every guest is different and has different ideas of what their stay will be like, so use this as a reference point to help you plan your stay.

Day one

• Arrive late afternoon
• Griffith Island walk.  You can walk Griffith Island any time of the day, but it is a beautiful way to unwind and enjoy the cooling sea breezes in the early evening.  Perfect for photographers, with many photographic opportunities. If you wish to see the Shearwaters on the island (mutton bird), check the mating, nesting and migration dates here.
• Order take away pizza from Coffin Sally and relax at home.  Coffin Sally also has a great bar/restaurant area for you to eat out too.  Great if you still have the energy after your trip down.  It's an eight minute walk, so your pizzas won't be cold if you take away or you can have a glass of your favourite beverage without worrying about driving.

Day two:

• Head off to the beach in the morning.  Pea Soup  is a perfect place for young kids to paddle in the waters.
• Walk into town for lunch at one of the many cafe's lining Sackville Street and even do a spot shopping at the beautiful boutiques.
• Kids still not tired? Take them to Yambuk Lake for a ride on the big slide and a spot of fishing.  Don't have kids? Then bring the fishing rods (and boat, if you have one) and enjoy the calm of the lake.
• Finish the day with Happy Hour at the Merrijig Beer Garden right across the road from the house (literally a hop, skip and jump) before ordering the most amazing fish n chips at East Beach Fish and Chip Shop.  You could even ride one of our bikes there for pick up, or take the whole tribe to eat them on the beach.

Day three:

• Walk to East Beach after breakfast. If you haven't eaten breakfast, Charlie's on East Beach, just above the surf club, have a decent breakfast menu for you as well as a great view of the beach.
• Return home for relaxation time, read one of our many books, or just enjoy the view from the Penthouse Suite.  Or, if relaxing at home isn't your style, see if you can try your luck down at the wharf and catch lunch.
• Finish your last day with dinner at Conlan's Wine Store.  You'll find a vast array of wines and a seasonal produce menu to match.  Select some smaller tapas plates to share or enjoy the larger a la carte menu. Only 12 minutes to walk from the house, you won't need to worry about the number of drinks you have.  Remember to book in advance.

Day four:

• It's a 10 am check out, but don't worry, once you're packed you can head over to The Farmer's Wife for brunch.
• Make sure you have a decent bite to eat, so you have enough energy to walk Tower Hill.  Just 10 minutes out of town, grab your walking gear and enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife on offer.
• Head off home relaxed, rejuvenated and well-fed.
• PS. Don't forget to write your review.  ​

Note: this itinerary is perfect for good weather weekends, with the Merrijig Beer Garden only open in Summer months.  While most can still be done in the colder months, stay tuned for a Winter weather itinerary soon.

Summer down the South West is always fun.  Catch ups with family and friends, beach visits and a time to relax and recharge.

We aim to make our house your home away from home: aesthetically pleasing and clean but also comfortable, relaxing and easy to live in.  Here's a little snapshot:

There's plenty of photo opportunities when you are exploring the Port Fairy area. Here are a few from our explorations:

​<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19009103/?claim=p3b4yt6v4r9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

It's pretty difficult to be bored in Port Fairy.  Just driving in, you can see a million things to do: beach, river, shopping, eating, antiquing and art gallery visiting, playgrounding, nature walking . . .  The Visit Port Fairy Moyne Shire website even has a great list of 20 things you can do in Port and the Moyne Shire area.  We've tried quite a few, and others. Here are our just a few of our favourite things (enough to fill a long weekend).

Visit Tower Hill. ​Tower Hill is just 16km from Port, on the way to Warrnambool.  It is an inactive volcano that last erupted about 32,000 years ago.  You can drive into Tower Hill and enjoy a picnic, spot some wildlife and learn about the Aboriginal heritage of the area at the Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre, as well as explore the area by taking one of the five self-guided walks, each with a different theme.
There is an abundance of flora and fauna, where visitors can see koalas, emus, kangaroos, geese, echidna, possums and waterbirds.  A visit here suits old, young, adventurers and those looking for a relaxing, back to nature, weekend.  Find out more here.

Enjoy a relaxed drink at the Merrijig beer garden.  There's plenty more beer gardens around Port, including Wishart Gallery, the Caledonian Inn, Victoria Hotel, but we like the Merrijig as it is literally a stone's throw from the townhouse. We especially love the rustic elements of the garden, with retro furniture, rusted copper vessels and old wooden benches to give it a relaxed vibe.

Surfing at East Beach!  We are not a surfing family, but this a great beach in Summer to give it a go.  You can walk from our townhouse and enjoy the expanse of beach that is never really packed.  Not a surfer, but want to learn?  Give Port Fairy Surf School a go. While the groms are giving it their best, you can laze on the beach, or have a drink at Charlies on East Beach.  Or grab some lessons yourself - it's never too late to learn.

Walking Griffith's Island at Sunset.  A perfect way to unwind.  Grab the kids and take a stroll to Griffith's Island (again, walking distance from the townhouse).  Obviously, best done in Summer, where you can jump off the wharf on the way, or enjoy some of the beaches when you get there. But a brisk walk in Winter will certainly get the circulation going!

 Bike the Port Fairy - Warrnambool Rail Trail.  The trail skirts the volcano at Tower Hill, passes through open farming country, wetlands, coastal sand dunes and rivers to the sea.  You might want to have a driver at the other end to bring you home though.  It's 37.5 km.  If you don't want to do the full trip, you could also do it in stages. Port to Koroit one day, Koroit to Warrnambool another!  What better way to see this area of the South West.

A few of our favourite (Winter) things . . .

Two nights just aren't enough in Port Fairy. There's so much to do, or not! You can explore the town and surrounds, or just keep warm in our cosy bluestone accommodation.

Need more convincing.  Well, stay with us in June or July 2017 and you can get three nights accommodation for the price of two.

Check out our availability here.

The very nature of Winter encourages hibernation. We retreat from the dark, cold and wet weather to enjoy the indoors with our ugg boots, fires, hearty food and red wine (and lots of it).  Everything becomes a bit slower.

The Port Fairy Winter Weekends looks to challenge this idea.  Reenergising and enlivening the normally quiet Winter streets of this holiday town by celebrating Port Fairy's history, culture and community through art, music, food and wine.

It runs every 2nd weekend in June and July, starting from Friday 9 June, 2017.  You can see the program on the website.

It ticks everything on my winter list and adds a new energy to an otherwise dormant season.  Now, I wonder if I can wear my uggs . . .

Find out what Winter Weekends Moyne Mill Townhouse is available here.