Game of Penguin
We left St. Kilda finally bathed in warm sun of the southern hemisphere and headed southeast, with our ultimate goal of Phillip Island to see the little penguins parade back from the sea to their burrows at sunset. The big question was how we would get there: would we drive straight to Phillip Island or would we take a circuitous route thru off-the-beaten-path towns in Prom Country? Well, if you know anything about my husband, you know the answer to that question.
Our drive started at around noon and we headed south out of Melbourne. One thing that I haven’t really emphasized enough up until this point was the sheer number of cows we had seen so far, mostly in the country land to the west and south of Melbourne. Well, the south and east of Melbourne is pretty much full of them too!
Our first stop was Korumburra, and old coal mine town, where we walked thru Coal Creek. From Korumburra, we drove 30 km south to Inverloch, where we picked up the coastal road to Wonthaggi. The views from a few of the lookouts were unbelievable.
From Wonthaggi, we picked up the road leading to Phillip Island. The main attraction of Phillip Island is the penguin parade, but there’s a lot more to keep the tourists busy until the penguins arrive at sunset. We arrived on Phillip Island at around 3:30pm and drove to the Koala Conservancy, whose job it is to protect the koalas that are left on the island. We walked around the grounds for about an hour and saw koalas of all sorts and sizes—from joeys in their mother’s pouches to grandmother koalas. One thing we have learned throughout our trip so far though is that while koalas look quite cute and cuddly, in truth they can be quite nasty. But at least we have fun pictures!
After some hot chocolate at a café and a very windy walk around the Nobbies, we got all bundled up and ready to sit on the bleachers on the beach. Don’t forget that Phillip Island faces south and gets hit with chilly Antarctic winds every night, so I was bracing for the cold. We got to the bleachers around 45 minutes before sundown and after some waiting, we could finally see schools of black dots rolling in with the waves. The excitement was building. From one corner of the beach, a little penguin emerged out of the water and tip-toed onto the sand, walked up a few feet, and then all of a sudden, scurried back into the water. We were told earlier that the penguins wait until sundown before heading out of the water in order to ensure that the path home was safe from predators. This dance happened many more times along the length of the beach: 1-3 penguins come out the water, take a few steps inland, and then run right back. I decided from then on to rename “game of chicken” to “game of penguin.”
Finally, after around 20 minutes of watching the penguins scurry back and forth, one group finally ran from the water across the beach. We continued to watch as each group move in and as we started walking back towards the visitor center (the center is around ½ km back up from the beach), we were able to watch up close many penguins run up the side paths to their burrows underneath the center.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures of these tiny and cute penguins, so all we got to take back with us is the memories of what we saw and this sign outside in the parking lot (yes, we check underneath our car for penguins before pulling out;, no, there weren’t any there, but we did see a few penguins in the lot on our way out. They were pretty damn cute).
Our drive started at around noon and we headed south out of Melbourne. One thing that I haven’t really emphasized enough up until this point was the sheer number of cows we had seen so far, mostly in the country land to the west and south of Melbourne. Well, the south and east of Melbourne is pretty much full of them too!
Our first stop was Korumburra, and old coal mine town, where we walked thru Coal Creek. From Korumburra, we drove 30 km south to Inverloch, where we picked up the coastal road to Wonthaggi. The views from a few of the lookouts were unbelievable.
From Wonthaggi, we picked up the road leading to Phillip Island. The main attraction of Phillip Island is the penguin parade, but there’s a lot more to keep the tourists busy until the penguins arrive at sunset. We arrived on Phillip Island at around 3:30pm and drove to the Koala Conservancy, whose job it is to protect the koalas that are left on the island. We walked around the grounds for about an hour and saw koalas of all sorts and sizes—from joeys in their mother’s pouches to grandmother koalas. One thing we have learned throughout our trip so far though is that while koalas look quite cute and cuddly, in truth they can be quite nasty. But at least we have fun pictures!
After some hot chocolate at a café and a very windy walk around the Nobbies, we got all bundled up and ready to sit on the bleachers on the beach. Don’t forget that Phillip Island faces south and gets hit with chilly Antarctic winds every night, so I was bracing for the cold. We got to the bleachers around 45 minutes before sundown and after some waiting, we could finally see schools of black dots rolling in with the waves. The excitement was building. From one corner of the beach, a little penguin emerged out of the water and tip-toed onto the sand, walked up a few feet, and then all of a sudden, scurried back into the water. We were told earlier that the penguins wait until sundown before heading out of the water in order to ensure that the path home was safe from predators. This dance happened many more times along the length of the beach: 1-3 penguins come out the water, take a few steps inland, and then run right back. I decided from then on to rename “game of chicken” to “game of penguin.”
Finally, after around 20 minutes of watching the penguins scurry back and forth, one group finally ran from the water across the beach. We continued to watch as each group move in and as we started walking back towards the visitor center (the center is around ½ km back up from the beach), we were able to watch up close many penguins run up the side paths to their burrows underneath the center.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures of these tiny and cute penguins, so all we got to take back with us is the memories of what we saw and this sign outside in the parking lot (yes, we check underneath our car for penguins before pulling out;, no, there weren’t any there, but we did see a few penguins in the lot on our way out. They were pretty damn cute).
posted by elanit | 6:22 PM
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