Discover Grantville

• Visit Maru Koala and Animal Park to see native Australian wildlife and have a close encounter.
• Pick your own strawberries in season at Macca's Farm (Glen Forbes) and take away smallgoods, hydroponic fruit and veg, plus some gourmet deli items from the farm gate.
• Head to Bassine Specialty Cheeses (Glen Forbes) for a tasting of delicious cheese.
• Take the Grantville Foreshore Walk for sweeping bay views.
• Pack a picnic and head to The Gurdies Winery for superb views across the vines to shimmering waters of Westernbay. You bring the food, they supply the wine.

Grantville is a popular spot for young families with Maru Koala and Animal Park offering plenty of friendly, furry native Australian wildlife to see. Get up close with koalas, kangaroos, quokkas, wombats, emus, a crocodile, a cassowary and other native animals. Enjoy interactive keeper talks and sheep shearing shows.

Just 15 minutes from Grantville is Phillip Island and the world-famous Penguin Parade - fans worldwide visit to watch these cuties make the evening pilgrimage from the sea to their homes in the sand dunes.

Get your bearings of Western Port Bay along the short Grantville Foreshore Walk which takes in views of the bay, French Island and mangroves abundant in birdlife.

Stretching from the Bass Highway up into the hills above town is the large and scenic The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve. This pleasant park offers multiple walking tracks of various difficulty levels though large areas of native flora significance. Feel free to bust out your best mountain biking or horse-riding moves.

Cheesery and farm cafe Bassine Specialty Cheeses (Glen Forbes) makes us weak at the knees. They are masters of their craft and offer an interesting range of cheeses from smoky hard cheese and chilli-infused feta, to that extra creamy hit from their "triplet". They also make their own unhomogenised milk. Pop in to sample delicious cheeses, have one of the best milkshakes around, or spoil yourself with our freshly baked scones with farm cream.

Hands down our favourite thing about Macca's Farm is the PYO (pick your own) strawberries. No wait, it's the piglets. Damn, those sausages are so good too. And the cafe, open over summer, is full of strawberry desserts and farm fresh bacon and eggs. Ok, it turns out there is lots to love about Macca's Farm.

La Provincia (Corinella) is a family-run café and wine bar stocking homemade passata, small goods, fresh vegetables, cheese, wine and preserves.

Fig & The Bay in Corinella invites you into a freshly renovated heritage homestead, with wide verandas and sun soaked outdoor seating. The coffee is top notch and the breakfast menu raises the bar.

Stock up on fresh free range eggs at Freeranger Eggs and hear that satisfying clink of coins landing in an honesty box.

Where to stock up

• Taste your way around the cheeses at Bassine Speciality Cheeses (Glen Forbes) then take away your favourites.
• La Provincia (Corinella) is a family-run café and wine bar stocking homemade passata, small goods, fresh vegetables, cheese, wine and preserves.

If you’re feeling thirsty, you’re in luck. Grantville is the starting point of the South Gippsland Drink Trail.

Nestled among the hills-that-know-no-bounds, is Bass River Winery (Glen Forbes) where you can taste the premium single estate wines at the cellar door. They even make limoncello, grappa and a dessert-style Iced Riesling. Just down the road is The Gurdies Winery (The Gurdies) where the picnic tables offer a fantastic vantage point toward the shimmering waters of Western Port.

Next in line is Howler Brewing Company (Lang Lang), with a focus on local and natural, the craft beers are crisp and refreshing. The restaurant offers a beer-flattering menu based on locally- sourced ingredients.