A Few Days on Phillip Island – Zoarii Ventnor House Features in Qantas Magazine
Image: Zoarii Ventnor House
Phillip
Island.
Article by: Qantas Magazine words by Kendall Hill
The Arkular-designed Ventnor House (Zoarii) was recently featured in the March edition of Qantas Magazine showcasing this beautiful home and everything that Phillip Island has to offer. Read on for the full article and view the Ventnor House here or book your stay at Zoarii here.
A Few Days on Phillip Island
It’s been many years since I last visited Phillip Island (Millowl) so pilot Mohan Chahal refreshes my memory in the most sensational way imaginable. Lifting off from Island Helicopters’ (islandhelicopters.au) base at Newhaven in the island’s east, his Robinson R44 banks north over farmlands and the shifting blue shallows of Western Port.
He signals French Island straight ahead (famous for koalas and former resident Kylie Minogue), the Mornington Peninsula across the bay, the fishing village of Rhyll, Phillip Island’s main settlement of Cowes and Summerland Peninsula, home to the world’s largest colony of little penguins (and one of Australia’s top tourist spots).
The 100-sqaure kilometre island, faintly seahorse-shaped and about a two-hour drive from Melbourne’s CBD, is a haven for wildlife. Beyond the Nobbies headland on its western tip we fly over stone platforms peppered with the basking bodies of some of the 20,0000 or so Australian fur seals who call Seal Rocks home.
At Ventnor, on the opposite side of the island far removed from any holiday crowds, it’s just me, many birds and the native swamp wallabies that graze in front of my two-bedroom retreat.
Zoarii (zoarii.com) is a sleek designer stay on a hinterland rise above Berrys Beach with direct access to its surf break. The house, clad in charred silver top ash and glass, has bedrooms at either end, al fresco and indoor bathing and a living area floored in European oak and anchored by a hanging fireplace.
There’s a full kitchen with coffee machine and bottled cocktails, plus a sauna, cold plunge and gym equipment in an adjacent studio. Every space is positioned perfectly for ocean sunsets.
Image: Red Rocks Cowes, Phillip Island
The next morning, I board the new Phillip Island Explorer bus (localwaytours. com.au) in nearby Cowes for a sunny day of sightseeing and local intel, thanks to driver/guide Sue Verhay.
She drops me first at Churchill Island (Moonah’mia), on the traditional lands of the Bunurong people, where I explore the coastline, admiring its red shingle shores. I contemplate the fact that some 12,000 birds, including bar tailed godwits and eastern curlews, migrate to these globally significant wetlands each spring from as far away as Siberia and Alaska. It certainly puts my own commute here into perspective.
Image: Red Rocks Cowes, Phillip Island
Our minibus also visits the koala park, chocolate factory and go-kart track (a replica of the island’s MotoGP circuit, which attracts 90,000 fans each October for the three-day event).
I hike the stunning Cape Woolamai Walk and drop into Phillip Island Winery (phillipislandwinery.com.au) to sample six of their wines (one of the perks of having a designated driver) as Cape Barren geese guard the vines.
That evening, I dine at Anerie (anerie.com.au), a sophisticated French bistro in Cowes. Inside, beyond the gold-trimmed vitrine windows, there are lamplit tables – round and square, clothed and bare – and walls and window sills decorated with vintage finds, prints and paintings. La Vie en Rose is playing when I enter. Perfect.
Richard Nixon, Anerie’s affable host, sorts me out with a glass of French white and a menu of unmistakably Gallic offerings, from cheese souffle to steak frites. The confit duck rillettes, made in-house, is a fine opener, followed by miso-glazed beef ribs.
Nixon came to the island 10 years ago to surf over summer then stayed for the winter. “I fell in love with it,” he says. “Winter’s when the community comes out. You’ve got time to slow down. Here, people connect.”
Arriving home after dinner, I find Zoarii framed against a painted sky and platinum sea. I take a snap of the sunset from in front of the house then turn around to see the entire scene reflected in its façade with a full moon rising behind. It’s such a magic sight I forget, for a moment, where on Earth I am.
The Beauty of Collaboration
It’s been amazing seeing our clients property evolve into a successful accommodation wellness retreat. Projects like this show how good design can turn underused land into unique stays with real lifestyle and income potential. What started as a simple vision has become a place that genuinely connects people with nature, relaxation, and experience-driven travel, proving that thoughtful development can create both strong commercial outcomes and meaningful spaces people want to return to.
Collaborative Details
Photography – Charlotte Jane Studio
Architect – Arkular
Interior Design – George Marks Design
Builder – Teekay Constructions
Book Your Stay – Zoarii
