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Lonely Planet - Peninsula
Monash's seaside Peninsula campus is located on McMahons Road in Frankston, which is 43km southeast of downtown Melbourne. Frankston is the commercial, retail and cultural heart for many surrounding areas, such as neighbouring Mt Eliza, Seaford and Langwarrin.
Destination overview
While not right in the thick of things, the campus is just a brisk less-than-2km walk east of the beach and city centre. Alternatively, you can jump on a train at Leawarra station (about 200m east of campus) to take you the one stop to Frankston, or take a bus (Nos 775, 776, 782 and 783). Daily rail and bus services also run to/from Melbourne and to various towns on the peninsula - search the Metlink website (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au) for timetables.
Frankston is often overshadowed in many respects by the fact that it lies at the entrance to the glorious Mornington Peninsula. However, it has many attractions in its own right (see Things to Do), including a healthy arts scene, great sporting opportunities, lovely parks and gardens, a rich mix of different nationalities and, of course, the beach.
The Mornington Peninsula is a boot-shaped peninsula between Port Phillip and Western Port Bays that has been a favourite summer destination since the 1870s when paddle-steamers carried droves of holidaying Melburnians to Portsea and Sorrento. The calm ‘front beaches’ are on the Port Phillip side. The rugged ocean 'back beaches' face Bass Strait. There are stunning walks along the back beaches, which are protected as part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park.
At the far end of the spit, Portsea has a reputation as a playground for the wealthy, while nearby Sorrento has the peninsula's best range of accommodation and restaurants. Inland, the peninsula is a picturesque blend of rolling hills and green pastures, terraced vineyards and dense forests.
Foodies and wine lovers are in their element on the Peninsula, which has blossomed into one of Victoria's prime wine-producing regions. There are dozens of wineries, mostly in the elevated interior around Red Hill and Main Ridge. You’d do well to remember this, as a winery lunch is a sure-fire way to escape the stresses of study for a while...
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Eat & drink
Places to eat & drink (on-campus)
Opening hours shown are for during semester.
- Seahorse Tavern (tel 9904 4155; Building U; noon-7.30pm Mon-Thu, to 5pm Fri)
- Upperdeck Café (tel 9904 4269; Building U; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri)
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Places to eat & drink (off-campus)
- Frankston's Heatherhill Road, 500m from campus, has a tiny strip of shops popular with students for two reasons: the Heatherhill Pizza Factory (tel 9770 2333; 44b Heatherhill Road; 5pm-10pm Tue-Sun), where you can scoop up two large pizzas for $20; and the understated Heatherhill Asian Take-Away (tel 9781 1727; 48b Heatherhill Road; mains $9-15; lunch & dinner Tue-Sat, dinner Sun), which, in addition to an extensive menu, offers an 'Express Lunch $5.90 All-You-Can-Eat' special. Now that's value.
- Another place in students' good books, Noodle Jone (tel 9769 6388; 9a Thompson Street; mains around $8; 11am-9pm Mon-Thu, to 10pm Fri-Sat, 5pm-9pm Sun) in downtown Frankston serves up noodles in a box in no less than six different cuisines: Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese! Its $6.80 lunch special is also good value.
There's plenty to choose from elsewhere in town when it comes to different flavours.
- Megumi Japanese Restaurant (tel 9783 8975; 433 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; mains $17-22; lunch Tue-Fri, dinner Tue-Sun) is not cheap, but is well worth a splurge for its excellent, fresh sushi and sashimi
- The Spice Club (tel 9770 5011; 506 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; mains $10-$15; lunch & dinner daily) is another favourite for its classic Indian curries, tandoori dishes, great vegetarian selection and altogether lovely décor and atmosphere
- If you like Mexican food and don't mind dining early-ish, Taco Bill (tel 9783 4163; 431 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; mains $13-17; dinner Tue-Sun) has a good buy-one-main-get-the-second-one-for-$3 deal
- For good, honest home cookin' you can't go past Poppyseeds (tel 9783 4917; 59 Wells Street, Frankston; 7.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat). This is the place to come for delicious, healthy sandwiches, top-notch pies, homemade sausage rolls and sweet treats like scones, muffins and cakes
- If you ever have a reason to celebrate, do so at the absolutely delightful Kananook Creek Boat House (tel 9770 5330; 366-368 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; mains $21-29; lunch, afternoon tea & dinner daily). Be sure to book a table on the verandah for a gorgeous outlook over the gardens and creek. If you can't afford the delicious Mod Oz cuisine for lunch or dinner, why not just pop in for an indulgent afternoon tea? It could well be the best introduction you'll have to pavlova ($12.50), the classic Aussie dessert
To forget your study woes, down a drink or two and strut your stuff on the dance floor, take your pick from:
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Places to stay
Places to stay (on-campus)
- The Student Village – Located on campus, the village comprises six-bed units with one student per bedroom. The residences have two bathrooms and two lounge rooms, so students share a bathroom and lounge with only two other occupants. Kitchen and laundry facilities are also shared
- Samada Street Residences – These are located a short walk from campus and have single rooms with shared bathroom, kitchen, lounge room, laundry and outdoor BBQ
For more information on either of these accommodation options, have a look at: www.mrs.monash.edu/on-campus/peninsula
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Places to stay (off-campus)
Short-term – Motels and B&Bs
- Seaford Taverner Hotel (tel 8770 5999; 362 Frankston–Dandenong Road, Frankston; room $65)
- Beach Motor Inn (tel 9783 6222; 9 Beach Street, Frankston; room from $69)
- Frankston Motel (tel 9783 8224; 233 Frankston–Flinders Road, Frankston; singles/doubles from $70/75)
- Ambassador Frankston (tel 9781 4488; 325 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; room from $83)
- Frankston International (tel 9781 3444; 389 Nepean Hwy, Frankston; room from $105)
- Olivers Hill B&B (tel 9770 2789; 2 Fernery Lane, Frankston South; room from $255)
Long-term – Student boarding/renting
- The Housing Advisory Service (tel 9904 4000; www.adm.monash.edu/community-services/housing/peninsula; Building C, Level 2; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) can help students find long-term off-campus accommodation. Also, take a look at Monash Residential Services' website www.mrs.monash.edu/off-campus for valuable off-campus accommodation information and tenancy advice
- Real estate agents in the area include: Dawes First National Real Estate (tel 9781 3077; 32 Playne Street, Frankston); LJ Hooker (tel 9783 7833; Shop 4, 500 Nepean Hwy, Frankston); Ray White Real Estate (tel 9770 6166; 1/500 Nepean Hwy, Frankston); and Stockdale & Leggo (tel 9781 5022; 486 Nepean Hwy, Frankston)
- For homestay options, contact Australia Asia Centre for Education Exchange (AACE) at Homestay Accommodation & Services (tel 8612 5560; email has@aace.monashuni.com; www.aace.monashuni.com/has)
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Things to do
Frankston, Seaford and Langwarrin
- When it comes to getting active you've got Jubilee Park, only 500m from campus, where you can play netball and football. The park is also home to the Jubilee Park Swimming Centre (tel 9789 6144; Hillcrest Road, Frankston; 5.30am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm Sat-Sun), which has a heated indoor pool, spa and sauna
- Don't let study drive you up the wall: why not climb the wall instead at The Victorian Climbing Centre (tel 9782 4222; 12 Hartnett Drive, Seaford; take the train to Kananook)
- Golf lovers can head to Centenary Park Public Golf Course (tel 9789 1480; McClelland Drive, Frankston North)
- It's just a hop over the Moorooduc Hwy to the gorgeous, velvety lawns of the George Pentland Botanic Gardens (Williams Street, Frankston; 7am-6pm, to 9pm during daylight saving), a lovely place to escape for a picnic or leisurely stroll
- Just north of the gardens you'll find the Frankston Tennis Club (tel 9783 8657; cnr Hastings Road & Yuille Street, Frankston)
- Culture vultures should definitely check out McClelland Gallery (tel 9789 1671; www.mcclellandgallery.com; 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun), about 5km east of campus. A superb, contemporary art space, it's set in a fantastic sculpture park and comes complete with a first-rate café
- Be sure to pick up a season program for the Frankston Arts Centre (tel 9784 1051; http://artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au; cnr Davey & Young Streets, Frankston; box office hours 9am-5pm Mon-Sat), where you can catch world-class theatre, opera and music performances
- Bayside Shopping Centre (tel 9781 2077; www.baysideshopping.com.au; 28 Beach Street, Frankston; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Wed, to 9pm Thu-Fri, to 5pm Sat, 10am-5pm Sun) is Frankston's fashion hub with department stores like Myer and Target and over 170 specialty retailers. There are also a few great bargain shops in town for inexpensive clothing, such as Dimmeys (tel 9770 0233; 451 Nepean Hwy, Frankston) and Savers (tel 9783 1711; 16 Playne Street, Frankson), and JB Hi-Fi (tel 9783 5820; www.jbhifi.com.au; 32 McMahons Road, Frankston) has dirt-cheap CDs and DVDs
- While there's the flash AMC Frankston 12 cinema complex at Bayside Entertainment (tel 1300 366 339; Wells Street, Frankston; students $9.50), students are better off heading to the more low-key Peninsula Cinemas (tel 9781 3944; 444 Nepean Hwy, Frankston), where movie tickets cost just $5.50 all day, every day
Of course, let's not forget that Frankston is by the sea! While there are better swimming beaches further down the peninsula (on the bay side, see Further Afield following), you can always test the waters of Frankston's beach or drop a fishing line into the bay from the pier. The Seaford Foreshore Reserve, which starts just under 2km north of Frankston's Davey Street and Nepean Hwy intersection, is also worth exploring for a swim or stroll...or perhaps some fish 'n' chips on the pier.
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Further afield
The Mornington Peninsula is jam-packed with fantastic things to do: its ocean beaches, national parks and wineries make it an action-packed day/weekend trip from campus.
- Shop at craft and produce markets, such as the fabulous Red Hill Community Market (tel 5974 4710; Red Hill Recreation Reserve; 8am-1pm first Saturday of the month Sep-May), about 25km southwest of Frankston, where you can pick up fresh produce and crafts and snack on grilled corncobs and homemade lemonade
- Another 20km or so further on is the southwestern coastline of the peninsula, which faces Bass Strait. Along here are the beautiful and rugged ocean beaches of Blairgowrie, Rye, St Andrews, Gunnamatta and Cape Schanck. There are a series of points and bays back-dropped by cliffs, sand dunes, spectacular scenery and tidal rock pools
- It's possible to hike all the way from Portsea to Cape Schanck (26km) along the ocean beaches. It's a fairly easy hike, but it takes around eight hours. Swimming or surfing is dangerous at any unsupervised beaches: the undertow and rips can be severe around here and drownings have occurred
- Built in 1859, Cape Schanck Lightstation (tel 5988 6184; adult/student $12/11, parking $4; 10am-4pm daily) is an operational lighthouse which has a kiosk, museum and information centre. From the Lightstation, wander along the boardwalk that leads to the Cape – the views are phenomenal
- Longer walks include tracks around Bushrangers Bay, which starts at the Bushrangers Bay car park and winds down to Cape Schanck (return two hours); and Fingal Beach (return one hour), which has a picnic area
- Historic Sorrento, near the entrance to Port Phillip Bay about 50km from Frankston, is a fashionable resort town that's frenetic in summer and more of a sleepy seaside retreat in winter. The town has some fine 19th-century buildings constructed from locally quarried limestone, and it boasts lovely beaches (the back beach has a great rock pool for swimming and snorkelling at low tide), good accommodation, and plenty of cafés and restau¬rants. You can also take a ferry trip across to Queenscliff on the other side of Port Phillip Bay with Searoad (tel 5258 3244; www.searoad.com.au; one-way foot passenger $9; hourly sailings 7am-6pm daily, reduced sailings in winter)
- Multimillion-dollar mansions are ten-a-penny in Portsea, a little further on from Sorrento. The area is also a mecca for divers and diving operators, such as Dive Victoria (tel 5984 3155; www.divevictoria.com.au; 3752 Point Nepean Road; snorkelling including gear $65, one dive without gear $50). The front beach is calm and inviting. If things get too hot, wander up to the lovely Tudor-style Portsea Hotel (tel 5984 2213; www.portseahotel.com.au; Point Nepean Road; breakfast, lunch & dinner daily) and enjoy a drink in the grassy (and usually crowded) beer garden that overlooks the pier. Portsea's back beach is notoriously wild
- Dolphin-watching cruises in the bay are incredibly popular in season. Local operators, such as Polperro Dolphin Swims (tel 5988 8437; www.polperro.com.au; adult observers $40, swimmers $100; 8.30am & 1.30pm daily Oct-Apr, weather permitting), offer a combination of sightseeing cruises of the bay, fishing trips and dolphin-spotting/swimming cruises
There are so many other great things to do in this area; it's impossible to list them all here. Drop into the Peninsula Visitor Information Centre (tel 5987 3078; www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org; Nepean Hwy, Dromana; 9am-5pm daily) for more ideas, and, if you don't mind a tipple, be sure to pick up a copy of the Mornington Peninsula Wine Touring Map while you're there.
From Frankston train station, the Portsea Passenger Service (tel 5986 5666) bus No 788 runs to/from Portsea (one-way $8.20, 90 minutes, every 30mins Mon-Fri, hourly Sat, every two hours Sun), via Mornington, Dromana and Sorrento.
Lastly, it just wouldn't be right not to mention the famous Penguin Parade at Phillip Island. It's a bigger trip than exploring the Peninsula (about 100km from Frankston), but well worth it to see the little penguins emerge from the sea after sunset and waddle resolutely up the beach to their nests in the Phillip Island Nature Park (tel 5951 2800; www.penguins.org.au; Summerland Beach; adult/student $16; penguin shows 10am-dusk daily).
While the penguins steal the show on Phillip Island, there are plenty of other attractions that are also of particular interest to overseas visitors, such as the Koala Conservation Centre (tel 5952 1307; off Phillip Island Road; adult/student $8.50; 10am-5pm daily), which has elevated boardwalks at treetop level so you can peer at koalas munching on eucalyptus leaves. Note that koalas sleep 20 hours a day, so it's likely they'll be dozing, but sightings are guaranteed.
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Work
Monash's Careers & Employment website (www.careers.monash.edu), which incorporates an online job-searching system, is the best place to start looking for part-time or casual work while you're studying (or full-time employment after you've graduated). Here you'll find any number of jobs advertised, from local restaurants and eateries to parents looking for tutors for their children.
Also try approaching large stores in the area such as:
- Bunnings Warehouse (tel 8790 7100; cnr McMahon & Gertrude Streets, Frankston)
- Officeworks (tel 9770 2277; 351-355 Nepean Hwy, Frankston)
- JB Hi-Fi (see Things to Do)
- Coles Supermarket (tel 9783 9200; Bayside Shopping Centre, cnr Ross Smith Avenue & Keys Street, Frankston)
- Target (tel 9781 2144; Bayside Shopping Centre, cnr Ross Smith Avenue & Keys Street, Frankston)
Also keep your eyes open for the 'Study, Work, Play' program, an initiative aimed at creating on-campus job opportunities for students.
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