The Cape Schanck Lighthouse is an elegant, white limestone construction that first shone its beam over Bass Strait in 1859. Still operational today, the lighthouse continues to blink out the letter “N” in Morse Code to wary sailors traversing the waters below. Impressive as it is, Mornington’s great porch light isn’t even the most spectacular attraction – that honour goes to the jagged geological formation of Cape Schanck itself. Follow the boardwalk down from the clifftop carpark 80 metres above the ocean, down over the slick-black beach rocks and out onto the point for stunning views back across the bay. When you’re done, take a brisk 10-kilometre walk that hugs the coastline of Bushrangers Bay, then tracks inland through banksia forests and down through the valley creek to arrive at Boneo Road. If you’re hoping to spot a kangaroo or two – or even the elusive swamp wallaby – set out early to catch them with their breakfast.