Jalan-jalan Melbourne: Yering Gorge Cottages, Silverwater Resort & Makanan Halal Phillip Island

Cuti-cuti Melbourne, Yering Gorge Cottage @ Yarra Glen

Jotting down our accommodation for Yarra Glen and Phillip Island trip and also halal food options on Phillip Island. Maybe the information will be helpful to some :)

We stayed at Yering Gorge Cottages for our Lake Mountain Resort trip cos we did not want to stay in Marysville. Yarra Valley was very picturesque and we did not regret the stay. Although the view from the cottage is not as what we envisioned, (we had assumed that we will be overlooking never ending greens with cows grazing haha) it was still nice enough, there were greens and you can't miss the kangaroos! You can't feed them though cos they are wild kangaroos and not used to humans feeding them but they pretty much keep their distance.   

Outside the cottage

Our view from the cottage at Yering Gorge, in the evening kangaroos will be seen all around

Yering Gorge Cottages was pretty quiet, the first day came with complimentary wine (which of course we didn't drink :P ) chocolates, a huge breakfast basket with loads of jams, butter, muesli, bread, another huge basket of fruits a big bottle of fruit juice and a milk. Wow!

Yering Cottages : Kitchen and Dining

Cuti-cuti Melbourne: Yering Cottages

Cuti-cuti Melbourne: Yering Cottages 

The bathroom with a tub and separate shower @ Yering Cottages

It's pretty much very well equipped, iron, a small laundry stand, heated beds and individual heaters in the room. It was very comfortable in winter. The laundry and dryer facilities are at the Yering Room, a short walk away. 

Yering Gorge is about 75km away from Lake Mountain Resort around 1h 15 minutes drive. No halal food options nearby, you gotta drive about 30 minutes to get to a halal restaurant which is either:

1) Gulistan (Afghan restaurant) at 768 Station Street, Box Hill North open 6.00am -11.00pm call +6139890 8808 to confirm opening hours.

2) Persian Flavours at 338 Springvale Road, Forest Hill , open for lunch and dinner call 03 9878 3087 to confirm opening hours.

Stay in Phillip Island: Silverwater Resort

Silverwater Resort; Phillip Island

Day 3 in Melbourne was Phillips Island and we decided to stay at Silverwater Resort (it's our second time here, the first time we came in 2009 it was quite new and we really liked the place, so, for sentimental reasons, hubby wanted to stay here again) we were given a high floor to get a nice view but since MIL is with us we had to request for an apartment change to a ground level so that MIL don't have to climb the stairs. We ended up with an apartment that faces the playground. Oh Well..the kids loved it cos they can just run to the playground from the verandah and there's a field at the back where you can see cows grazing in the morning.

Stay near Phillip Island @ Silverwater Resort

Kids playground at Silverwater Resort

The beds are not heated, there are no individual heaters in the rooms but the apartment does have reverse cycle air conditioning. The only downside is, you can't turn it on in both the rooms and the living room at the same time. If you turn on the reverse air conditioning in the hall, the rooms gets cold and if you turn it on in the rooms, the hall gets cold. Wifi did not work for a long time and when we did get connected, the connection was very very slow. Since we only stayed one night, we didn't bother complaining though we did call up reception 3 times to ask for the password. Shouldn't that have given them a hint? But, all they ever did was sound exasperated that we did not find the paper that has the wifi password that is supposed to be on the table where the TV is. There was no such paper.

Silverwater Resort @ San Remo

At Silverwater we did not really cook as there are halal food options on Phillip Island, which is just a short drive away.  

The first day after check in, the plan was to eat lunch at the Chocolate Factory's restaurant on Phillips Island, go to the Wildlife Park then head for penguin parade. But we got to the restaurant kind of late and were told that yes they serve halal food but the kitchen is closed (those intending to eat at Chocolate Factory's restaurant please check the hours beforehand else you get disappointed like us but 12pm -3pm is a safe bet cos I saw a sign that says "Curry lunch 12pm-3pm).

Makanan Halal @ Phillip Island ; Jeronimos

Inside Jeronimos @ Coowes

So, we headed to Cowes to find halal food. Luckily, I did a bit of research beforehand so we knew Jeronimos at Cowes (right at the end near the beach area) is halal. The address is 11 Thompson Avenue, Cowes, Victoria. Right opposite it is Burger Edge (with halal options) I wanted to buy a burger at Burger Edge, just to give it a try, but the lady behind the counter said their beef and chicken are halal but not the lamb and I can't remember what else, so I gave it a miss.

Halal Options @ Burger Edge, Cowes; Phillip Island

Food at Jeronimos was average but hey with lack of options we can't be choosy. Kids had pizza, hubby had chicken parma, me fish and chips and bryani with lamb for the MIL. After that it's straight to penguin parade! Wildlife Park has to wait till the next day since we had to be at the Penguin Parade at about 1 hour or 45 minutes before  sun set.

Halal pizza @ Jeronimos; Phillip Island

Chicken Parma @ Jeronimos; Phillip Island

Fish and Chips (halal) @ Jeronimos; Phillip Island

Hopefully, next post I will update on what we did at Phillip Island. Till then!