Holiday houses in French Island

A short hop from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, French Island is two-thirds national park, and for most visitors this is the main draw of the state’s largest coastal island. From bushwalking to cycling, birdwatching to koala spotting — French Island National Park is home to a particularly robust population of the furry marsupials — there’s plenty to do within its boundaries. Once a seasonal hunting ground for the Bunurong Aboriginal people, French Island is off-grid and accessible only by ferry (and light aircraft), which has helped it to retain a wonderful sense of serenity, just 80 kilometres from central Melbourne.

Beyond the national park, island attractions include a historic chicory kiln and a century-old prison (on separate, private properties), a picturesque winery with a cellar door, and a cafe within walking distance of the ferry dock, where you can rent bikes. To see more of the island and visit secret wildlife viewing spots, book a 4WD tour.

Home to little more than 100 residents, French Island’s isolation can feel magnified in winter, when the windswept isle can be downright chilly. But if you don’t mind the cold, there’s no bad time to visit. In spring, the national park is ablaze with the colours of flowering plants, including more than 100 orchid species that grow on the island, while the summer months are particularly good for birdwatching, with many migratory species arriving during the warmer months.

While most people opt to visit the island on a day trip from Melbourne, French Island’s nocturnal wildlife — which also includes a healthy population of long-nosed potoroos — makes for a compelling reason to stay overnight. Staying on the island also makes it easier to spot koalas at dawn and dusk, when they’re more active.

Koala Spotting

Introduced to French Island in the 1880s in an effort to rescue the species after hunting had decimated mainland populations, koalas reproduced so successfully that numbers are now managed by fertility control. As koalas spend most of the day sleeping high in the trees, the best way to spot them is simply to look up. But don’t forget to look down, or you might miss the echidnas that are often seen snuffling around.

Birdwatching

With more than 230 bird species recorded on French Island, as well as 33 species of waders that forage along the coast at low tide, French Island is a twitcher’s paradise. Significant species include the majestic white-bellied sea eagle, and the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot, which migrate from Tasmania to coastal Victoria in autumn before returning south to breed in spring.

Winetasting

There are more than a dozen wineries on the Mornington Peninsula, but only one on French Island. At its cellar door on the southern tip of the island, you can sample Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz while learning more about the challenges involved in producing fine wine at an off-grid vineyard.