A guide to Victoria's Mornington Peninsula

Some people have an ancestral base - it might be a castle, a city or a family home that has been in the family for generations.

Coming from a family that was always on the move, and now spread to the four corners of the earth, the closest I can come to is our beach house on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, which my grandfather built in the 1960s. It's seen five generations holidaying here, and while it's not a hunting lodge or a town that with streets named after us, the beach is at the end of the street and dolphins play in the waters: it's not so bad.

Decidedly daggy (read: unhip) for decades, known only for its beachhouses and fish & chip shops (which are, still, very good), it's now got its mojo on, and in a massive way. In just five years, we've got five-star hotels, artisan gin distillers, we've got fabulous cafes and our great coastal walking paths have been mapped out.

I wrote my 20 reasons for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age's Traveller section, which you can read by clicking here