It’s a chilly Friday afternoon in Melbourne. The clock hits 5pm. You rush home, load up the family, hook up the boat and cruise down to Queenscliff, arriving just after sunset. Pulling up at The Queenscliff Inn, the smell of a red wine beef ragu in flaky pastry hits your nostrils. Thoughts of work are replaced with thoughts of a local Pinot Noir and a big, comfy mattress.

Located on the Bellarine Peninsula, you might know Queenscliff as the home to the Searoad Ferry, but it’s much more than that. Queenscliff has a rich maritime history and heaps of things to see and do, particularly fishing. Known for southern calamari squid, flatties, whiting and even gummies, it’s a fisho’s dream – and only an hour from Melbourne!

Visit www.visitgeelongbellarine.com.au for more information on Queenscliff.

WE WENT HERE…” THE MUST-DOS IN QUEENSCLIFF:

1. Have a beef ragu at the Queenscliff Inn.

2. Gobble down brekky at Belsize.

3. Get lost in history at the Maritime Museum.

4. Catch a squid off the Queenscliff Pier and learn about the lifeboat shed.

5. Get a 360-degree view from the Queenscliff observation tower – www.queenscliffharbour.com.au

6. Roll into Rolling Pin Pies and Cakes for Australia’s Best Pie.

7. Check out the two lighthouses, white and black.

8. Jump on a South Bay Eco Adventure and get up close and personal with seals and dolphins.

9. Have a spectacular meal with a tasty cider at the buzzing Flying Brick Cider Co.

10. Have a boogie aboard The Blues Train. A real life  movin’, groovin’ steam train!