Melbourne as a city doesn't have a lot of iconic must do's within the city itself. They all lie an hour or more drive out of the city center. The good part is, if you're like me and hate to drive, you can easily throw money at the situation and book a tour to any of the natural wonders around Melbourne. That's what I decided to do last night slash very early this morning at 3:30am - book a tour for that morning to go to Phillip Island.
I didn't sleep very well or much at all so, when my alarm went off to remind me that I needed to get dressed and go outside and not lay in bed all day, it was unwelcome to say the least. Still I pulled myself out of bed, got dressed, then proceeded to pack up my bag and pick a place for breakfast.
I picked a place just up the road from my hostel. Cute and hip and delicious looking, and also closed despite the operating hours showing it was open. My hopes at a lovely breakfast dashed and time running out, I went to the McDonald's across the street from my hostel. The bacon was unfortunately English style but the cheese and tomato toasty (basically a grilled cheese) was delicious. I ate breakfast and wrote my delayed blog post while marveling at the basic differences between our McD's and their Macca's.
Well fed and caffeinated by crappy coffee I went back across the street and waited for my ride. It arrived right on time and I piled into the bus with four other people. The seating was a little cramped. Eventually we picked everyone up, and our driver Daryl was off towards the penguins!
The parade of penguins on Phillips island wasn't until that evening but there was a whole bunch of experiences to be on the way there. The first stop was Maru park to visit some native Australian wildlife in a mini preserve. The best part was that we could take our photo with a koala!!!
When I set off on this trip I had two goals - hang out with Bren and take my picture with a koala. I had already done one last night and now I was finally getting to do the other! The overcast sky was finally giving way to a light drizzle. I didn't think anything of it as we walked from the mini bus to the ticket desk but something told me spend the $8 on a poncho. Sure enough as soon as we were through the door and into the park a torrential downpour began. The park was now filled with bright yellow ponchos everywhere. I made a bee-line for the koala picture, wrapped up in my yellow sac.
The koala was so fluffy. I couldn't believe how soft his fur was when they told me how to pet him. I was so happy to be there in that moment with Henry the sleepy koala. After my time with Henry I got to hop along in the mud with a couple of kangaroos. I made my rounds and said hi to all the other animals in the park that weren't burrowed away.
After Maru park it was off to watch some surfers. Still raining so I didn't expect much but boy was I wrong. There are probably more surfers on a sunny day but there were still packs of surfers sitting on their boards waiting for that wave that would propel them to glory.
By this time my backpack was literally dripping wet and my camera was taking a beating. Still I knew if I didn't go out there and see what was up then I would just be wasting good money.
From the surfers we went to this place called the Nobbies. The Nobbies are these monolithic outcroppings in the ocean. The little penguins somehow manage to climb up the cliff to nest and I got to see a couple cozied up in their man made nest. Apparently they get killed quite often while trying to burrow so the aussies built them some little houses around the island to help supplement them. Like housing projects for little penguins.
The scenery of the Nobbies was gorgeous. These beautiful yellow, red, and green colored cliffs with jet black rocks underneath and the grey blue ocean smashing against them with the grey sky behind it. I'm not even sure my photos do it justice but it is definitely more like what I expected to see on this trip. After taking all the photos I could and peaking in on the little penguins already nestled in their homes ahead of schedule I made my way back to the mini bus and it was off to the main event.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the penguin parade. Daryl told us to get as close to the left side of the stadium seating as possible in order to see the little guys coming out of the ocean. The seating itself was atrocious. I had tried to purchase the premium seats but it was already sold out for the day when I bought the tour (I guess that's what happens when you don't book it til 3am the day of the tour). After grabbing and eating a burger and using the facilities so I wouldn't have to worry about it after the show and before the long ride home I found myself in the predicament of having most of the up close seats taken. I got as close to the front as I could and noticed a huge part of one row completely empty. As I started to walk down the row towards those empty seats I quickly realized why they were still empty. The floor was a huge pool of water a couple inches deep. Certainly deep enough to get the edges of my shoes wet again and the wetness to reach my toes.
I uncomfortably sat on the hard metal bench and waited for something to happen. It took a while but eventually it did. Just like Daryl said the little penguins were poking their heads out of the water and dipping them back in instead of just dashing onto land.
It felt like the event barely started when all of sudden people started leaving. All that mess to get a seat and most people didn't even hang around to see the little penguins all crawl on land. I stayed longer, working my way down to the bottom of the seating area and got to see a herd of little penguins just waiting on the beach. Another couple had nested right next to my flooded row. Eventually I decided it was time to head back and then I saw it, the reason they call it the penguin parade.
It started quiet enough. The penguins were chillin in their nests with their partners. Then I saw a couple with chicks. Then I walked a little further and saw it - the parade of penguins. It turns out that as soon as they get on land they just follow the path until they get to wherever it is they're going. It was a combination of a parade and a traffic jam at times with a couple birds blocking the road for everyone. Photos aren't allowed but I got a couple terrible ones of them just to try and have something to show people.
I panicked a bit having lost the bus but thankfully I wasn't the last person on it. I got on, and almost immediately fell asleep. When I awoke we were back near the city. I looked up at the clock and it was already after midnight! I got back to the hostel at 12:15am and peaked into the bar. There were a bunch of people on there so I thought I would pop in for a quick drink before bed. I wound up not going when I saw that it closed at 1, by the time I was ready to go down it was already 12:30. So instead I put away my things, climbed into bed, and fought sleep hard enough to write this. Now I just need to figure out what to do tomorrow.
Location:City Road,Southbank,Australia
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