Torquay

Earlier this year while in Melbourne to see family and friends, we decided to take some time out and be tourists in our old town, heading to a favourite place, Torquay.

Torquay is located on the south- west coast of Victoria and is well known for its surf beach, including near by Bells Beach.

We started the trip by jumping on the ferry from Sorrento, across to Queenscliff and the driving the short drive to Torquay.

Despite many visits to both sides of the bay, neither of us had ever taken the ferry, something that we discovered is definitely worth the money!. We had Fran with us and it was certainly much quicker and relaxing than if we’d had to drive around the bay. Unfortunately for us, there were no dolphin sightings on our ride.

In Torquay the first thing I noticed was how much it has changed. It is still a fairly relaxed beach side town, but the abundance of new restaurants and bars, shops and accommodation was a change. Definitely much trendier than it once was.

We stayed at Peppers The Sands Resort, a few kilometres from the main stretch, but well within walking distance and a massive golf course, if you’re into that kind of thing (we are not :-)).

The weather was not great while we were there, a bit disappointing as Victoria’s beaches are never particularly warm to start with. Nonetheless, we did go for a quick dip and also did some feet paddling down at Bell’s Beach. I love going to Bell’s Beach just for people and surf watching; overseas visitors are always so excited by it and the surf can be pretty rough.

Back in Torquay we discovered a new bar, linked to The Salty Dog Cafe, which sits at the top of a hill overlooking the beach. And up the road we had some awesome fish tacos and ceviche at Fishos Torquay.

Coffee has also improved in Torquay, with a couple of visits to The Pond Cafe for brekkie. But beware, this place gets massively busy on the weekend!

Another highlight for me was actually in Anglesea, about a 20 minute drive from Torquay and the best fried chicken I have EVER had at The Hot Chicken Project. I’m actually not much of a fried chicken kind of gal, but this was awesome chicken, cooked to the level of spice that I wanted, coming with chips, pickles and coleslaw, all topped off with a choice of at least a dozen delicious craft beers. I believe that the Anglesea location was only a pop up, however their main location in Geelong is there for anyone wanting to give it a go.

No visit to Torquay would be complete without a visit to the surf shops and outlets on the way out of town, this trip being no exception. We made a couple of purchases , before heading back to the car only to discover the Bells Beach Brewing hidden away down one of the side streets. This place must be a dream come true for the non-shoppers who get dragged around the outlets for hours; now there’s a place to hide out at and enjoy a cold beer and light snack while waiting for the shoppers to return with their many bags.

In true Mike and Lauren style, we couldn’t resist one last drop before hitting the road.