Arthurs Seat Eagle - the gondala skylift with incredible views!

Arthurs Seat Eagle Chairlift

I grew up near the Mornington Peninsula, only 40 minutes away from Arthurs Seat. Despite being so close, I only remember going on the chairlift twice: once, when I was very young with my Mum, sitting in the little two seater open chair, creeking down the mountain and feeling a little scared about the whole experience. The second time was as a teenager, hanging out up there with my friends, remembering how scared I felt as a kid! Then the chairlift closed and it all faded into a long lost memory….

I was so excited when I discovered that it was being rebuilt – bigger and better than ever! I locked a reminder into my phone for the next school holidays, which would coincide with it’s grand opening. Then got on the phone to my Mum to let her know! How exciting to be able to share this experience with her and my own children. We couldn’t wait!

We watched the progress via their facebook page and the news and we were all getting super excited. School holidays arrived, we planned a little holiday in Melbourne with Grandma and booked our tickets online. We called to find out how busy it was – it had only been open a few short weeks, so we thought we would check. The lovely staff member was so helpful on the phone, pleasant and super friendly. This was refreshing and I just knew we were in for a treat.

It always warms my heart when we do things with our kids that we did when we were younger and this time was made even more special by having my Mum with us.

We arrived early, got a car park close by and made our way to the ticket area. The work and construction was impressive! Generous areas for lining up, more friendly staff and a new chairlift that rose from the earth. The girls were bursting! “Are we going up there Mum?” This new chairlift had bright blue gondalas…we were set!

A few words from their website:

“The Arthurs Seat Eagle is the Mornington Peninsula’s newest attraction. Opened early December 2016, you can jump aboard a state of the art gondola and enjoy the Peninsula as never before.

The all-weather Eagle carries passengers between the Base Station in Dromana to the summit of Arthurs Seat, passing high over the beautiful State Park. Passengers can board at either station. The ride is approximately 14 minutes each way and in busy periods such as school holidays, guests may have to disembark at each station.

A combination of enclosed and open cabins provides an all-weather experience for passengers. The Eagle is all inclusive and caters to the disabled, elderly, frail and toddlers. It is wheelchair and pram friendly”

Boarding the gondala was so easy, no steps (which was welcomed by my Mum who’s ankles are not so great). Plenty of room for all of us. The staff here were fabulous! Many thanks to Gavin who made us feel so welcome and assured the girls that they were going to have a blast. Extra hugs from Ashlee for this (luckily for Gavin, he was a hugger too..)

The most surprising feature was the smoothness of the journey. No jolts, creeks, sway. This was one of the most relaxing trips Mum and I had ever taken.

15 minutes of pure bliss! It felt a lot longer. Incredible views of Port Phillip Bay and the Mornington Peninsula. Despite the overcast day, it was breathtaking and there were loads of ooooo’s and arrrrhhhhh’ from the girls. We pointed out landmarks, we spotted boats and the coastline. We felt the cool breeze and most importantly, we all felt safe. The fabulous design allowed us all to ‘feel’ the weather through the grill above the chairs, and feel safe by being fully enclosed. There was no chance the kids could get excited and jump out…eeek.

The girls didn’t want to get off. We cruised past the café at the top of Arthurs Seat, chatted about a possible icecream and they were off. We were treated to a scrumptious café with a lovely selection of snacks, cakes & lunch options and all very affordable! What a morning we were having! We explored and took in the views. We were not rushed, we relaxed, we all chatted.

It was a ‘girls’ day out and our three generations could not fault the experience. As we headed down again, we were once again blown away by spectacular views and the smoothness of the gondala ride…