VIC: Coastal Currents - another spectacular TOCA Tour of the Bay - FINAL UPDATE

Come join your fellow TOCA members for a TOCA second: a bi-coastal cruise with a Seaferries bay crossing! Registration for this event will close Tuesday January 13, 6pm, so our dining hosts can be notified of final numbers for our reservations. Cruise information and turn by turn directions will be emailed to registrants on Wednesday. Please familiarise yourself with them. 

1. We start at Cafe L'a Wheels, a very special diner in Seaford near Frankston. A fun, family, dog and vegan-friendly place to start our day with a light breakfast. If you have any model cars you'd like to donate to their collection, bring them on the day! The Cafe's staff are all special needs. We will plan to brief and leave around 915am, for the 35 minute drive to our brunch destination.

https://cafelawheels.com.au

Full Menu here https://cafelawheels.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Cafe-la-Wheels-Menu-2025.pdf

2. From there we take the nearby M3 freeway in rapid convoy southwards, to join the Frankston-Flinders Road (C777), before joining the Moorooduc highway (C784) through Mt. Eliza and starting a very picturesque drive on Balnarring Road. This leg is high speed, and if the group becomes separated, the lead car may pull over just after entering Balnarring Road, on Gillet Road.

After any needed regrouping, we head through Merricks North on Tubbarubba Road and then the Bittern-Dromana Road (C788) west towards the coastline. We turn southwestwards on winding Red Hill Road, then briefly northwards on Arthurs Seat Road, past the Ashcombe Maze, then once more southwest, this time on the Mornington-Flinders Road, where we turn right into the lower parking area of the Green Olive at Red Hill. Take a break here, have a snack or drink, and a walk around the lake (bring insect repellent, by the way. We leave around 11am, to arrive at the Ferry embarkation area around 1135am.)

https://www.greenolive.com.au

3. After leaving the Green Olive, we head south back on Mornington-Flinders Road, for the short thirty minute inland then coastal drive to Sorrento and the Searoad ferry terminal, where we'll grab the noon crossing, arriving in Queenscliff at around 1245pm. You will see the new Sorrento ferry terminal almost completed.

Special Considations:

We each have to book our own crossing with Searoad ferries. The plan is to take the 12pm January 17, Sorrento to Queenscliff one way. A car and its driver is $86; A car, driver and one passenger is $106. There are family prices too.

Make sure you choose the 12pm, January 17 crossing. Grab your reservation, then register with Member Jungle. Do NOT leave your reservation to the day of our cruise. The crossing may be booked out. If it is grab the 1pm crossing and meet at our lunch venue, below. The group will likely still be enjoying a leisurely afternoon.

https://www.searoad.com.au/Prices-Timetable/Fares/Vehicle-Fares

4. Before you disembark, enter into your car's navigation our lunch destination: Farm Dog, at McGlashan's Estate, 225 Swan Bay Rd, Wallington VIC 3222. This is about 20" from the Ferry disembarkation point. Don't wait for the convoy to assemble - drive off the ferry and make your way to lunch, mainly along the B110!

The venue has been booked for TOCA with both indoor and outside seating (dog friendly) and there is plentiful parking. NB: The last 400m through the vineyards is on gravel roads. Please travel slowly.

The menu is vegan friendly and there is a splendid alcohol array too. There are also eco-friendly cottages to stay overnight.

https://www.farmdogbrewing.com.au/farmdog-mcglashans

Registrants will receive a detailed turn by turn set of directions via an emailed link. Please print them out or import into your smartphone or tablet and/or Tesla Nav., and bring them on the day. What3words waypoints and their Google maps routing will also be included. Members who do not wish to do the bay crossing may choose to come to the Farm Dog Brewery lunch around 1pm, or stay in Sorrento for brunch or return to Green Olive for lunch and a game of pickleball.

This cruise should easily be completed without recharging following an overnight charge of 80%-100%. There are eight pre-breakfast fast chargers at the Karingal Hub shopping centre in Franskton, just off the M11, about 11km south of our breakfast venue. There are also two Tesla Supercharger locations on your way back to Melbourne. One is the latest in the network at 71 Bellarine Highway, Newcomb (about 15kms from lunch).  The second site is east of Geelong in Corio (470-510 Princes Highway), about 45kms from lunch, and 53 minutes from the Melbourne CBD.

The long range weather forecast is for an excellent sunny day, little to no rain, and a maximum temperature of 24C.

Your TOCA Vic committee looks forward to seeing many new and familiar members on this spectacularly scenic cruise.