Dogs on the ferry: Sorrento to Queenscliff and back

The dog friendly ferry with Pepsi, Max and two of their friends was the whole point of this day.

A drive down the Mornington Peninsula to Sorrento, the Searoad car ferry across to Queenscliff, a few hours on the Queenscliff side, and the same crossing back in the afternoon.

Forty minutes of open water each way, with both dogs on the outside deck the whole time.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

On board

We were on the terminal deck at Sorrento just before ten, leads on. Dogs usually wait while the other passengers board first, so we let everyone else go, then walked onto 10am boardng.

Dogs ride on the outside and upper decks, so that's where we stayed on benches, a rail all the way round, and the whole bay going past.

Our friend Ricky came with his two dogs: Piper, a white Swiss shepherd, and Millie, a smaller black German shepherd, so it was four dogs on one deck.

The stairs

Photo: Pepsi & Max

The one thing nobody warned us about was the stairs.

The outside deck is up a flight of see-through stairs, and for most dogs that is terrifying as they can see straight through every step to the drop below.

Pepsi screamed in terror going up and again coming down at Queenscliff, but in the end followed the pack. Max was scared going up and fine coming down.

Millie went up and down every time without a problem, and Piper was fine on three of the four flights.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

Max found the rail early and barely left it.

He stood with his nose through the gap watching the wake churn away behind the boat, then moved along to watch the water slide past the side.

Pepsi preferred the people, and collected pats from everyone in our group.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

Later in the crossing the four of them sat together in the sun on the deck, which is where most of the group photos come from.

By about 10:40am, the Queenscliff coast was close enough to pick out the beach, and Max was back at the rail for the run in.

The Queenscliff side

Off the ferry we followed the foreshore and dune paths down to the sand, starting along the Ferry to Pier Trail.

The off-leash stretch on the bay side, Point Lonsdale Dog Beach, also called Narrows Beach, starts with no clear line between the beach and the off-leash part, and the off-leash area is bigger than you'd expect.

Calm water, and all four dogs were in the shallows within minutes.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

Later in the morning we wandered round to the ocean side, which has different rules.

The sign at the Ocean View beach access says dogs on leash, and no dogs on the beach at all from 1 December to the end of February between 9am and 8pm.

Leads went back on and the surf did the entertaining. Both piers have the same catch: Sorrento and Queenscliff each have an on-lead beach right by the ferry, and dogs are banned from both in peak season.

The off-leash beach at Queenscliff stays open all year.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

Lunch, then the ferry home

Lunch was in the beer garden at the Esplanade Hotel from about two, dogs under the table.

The beer garden is fully dog-friendly. Then back to the ferry terminal, where the dogs waited inside with us for the four o'clock sailing.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

The return crossing was quieter, once we got everyone up there.

At the bottom of the stairs Pepsi panicked and flatly refused to go up, so I carried him.

Max took up his spot at the rail again and the bay went past the other way.

At Sorrento it was Piper's turn: scared of the way down, so Ricky carried all 45-plus kilograms of white Swiss shepherd down the stairs.

Photo: Pepsi & Max

We pulled into Sorrento at about quarter to five. Two ferry crossings, two beaches and a pub lunch in one day.

Photo: Pepsi & Max