Port Fairy
Coastal & Beaches · Historic · Relaxed · Good for couples and groups
A whaling port that kept its bluestone cottages and its wharf - now one of the best small food towns in the state, with a folk festival that sells the place out every March. Griffiths Island has a lighthouse and a shearwater colony you can walk to. A weekend, and a long one at that.
A weekend here might look like
- Morning: Port Fairy Lighthouse On Griffiths Island - A flat 3.3km loop from the causeway at the end of Ocean Drive, running past sandy beaches to the lighthouse at the far tip of the island. The island is a short-tailed shearwater colony, with the birds arriving from Alaska around September and leaving in April, so stay on the marked tracks and keep clear of the burrows.
- Lunch: Merrijig Kitchen - The dining room of the Merrijig Inn, an 1842 building near the wharf, with a menu rewritten each day around what the kitchen garden and nearby farms have ready. The wine list leans towards small biodynamic growers.
- Afternoon: East Beach - Port Fairy's main beach, a long curve of sand running from the harbour wall out towards Reef Point, with dunes behind it. The surf life saving club patrols the stretch in front of its building over summer, so swim between the flags there rather than further along.
More to explore
- Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve (Parks Victoria) - A dormant volcano crater about 15 minutes east of Port Fairy, with four self-guided walks ranging from the flat Lava Tongue Boardwalk to a climb over the inner cones. Emus, koalas and kangaroos are commonly seen right beside the tracks.
- Port Fairy Coffee Roasters - Port Fairy's first coffee roastery, on Bank Street in the middle of town. Beans are roasted locally into three house blends, the bold Dead Man's dark roast and the Lighthouse and Sackville mediums, sold by the bag alongside decaf and single origins. Grab a takeaway cup, a pastry, a smoothie or a cold-pressed juice, and next door the food and retail store does salads, sourdough and evening meals.