Famous for the mansions of the Melbournian elite and rich, the Mornington Peninsula has some fancy abodes. Surprisingly it’s not the old school Newport Rhode Island style mansions around Portsea and Sorrento that are the most impressive, its the setups on the Mornington Peninsula foreshore camping that take the prize!

It seems that camping on the peninsula, is a summer ritual. Families, actually generations of families, lob en masse on the first day of the school holidays to set up these camping mansions as their holiday homes for the next 6 weeks. Vacant for most of the year, come the peak season in December, the foreshore reserve becomes a tent/caravan city stretching for about 20kms along the bay.

We were just looking for a few days to camp with some beachside vibe before embarking on the Spirit of Tasmania. So we stayed on the foreshore to check out the Peninsula before being kicked out on Saturday, the day the madness of this institution (an appropriate term indeed!) begins.

Mornington Mansions - there is a caravan hiding in there somewhere.

Yes that is a steel frame over the Jayco.

For all our fellow travellers in vans....cant wait to see the ceiling fan in your next setup!

and for the hardcore campers we meet on the road.....don't forget to pack your steel frame roof as well!

As for the rest of the Mornington Peninsula, we did managed a great bike ride along the foreshore Bay Trail, lunch at the Portsea Pub, a few refreshing swims, book reading on the beach and a visit to the hills for some wine.

Mornington foreshore - soon to be a seething mass of campers behind those trees.

Cooling the heels during the bike ride.

Bathing boxes....how Victorian!

Lunch at the Portsea pub.

Portsea pub, contender for best beer garden in Australia.

The hectic last week before Christmas!

More pre Christmas hecktivity!

After escaping this Victorian institution we wandered up to Melbourne for one last night before our Tasmanian Odyssey.