Phillip Island is in Victoria's Westernport Bay. A popular holiday resort rich in natural wildlife, the Island is well known as a home to Koalas, Rock Seals and Fairy Penguins.
We arrived at Phillip Island just after noon and had a picnic lunch outside the Koala Reserve.
After wandering among the Koalas, we headed off to a small outcrop called Churchill Island. There is a wonderful walking trail that allowed us to see the beauty of this secluded area first hand.
To get to Churchill Island we had to cross a wonky old bridge, negotiate a bumpy old gravel road and dodge through a herd of longhorn cows, but it was definitely worthwhile it. It was nice, sunny day, although it was a little windy, which is why Niki chose her "unique" apparrel.
Later in the afternoon we drove down to the Seal Rocks. Here they have an information centre where you can view the seals either by Telescope or in a Theatre which shows live close-up footage of the hundreds of Seals which inhabit the area.
Seals Priscilla, Dustin and Nicole Nicole and Dustin Web Cam
The Seals are protected now after years of slaughter almost wiped them out. The Bulls are absolutely HUGE. They go out to sea to bulk up, then during mating season they don't eat as they have to fight fearce territorial battles with the other males and then they use the rest of their energy to see to their harems of 20 or 30 cows each. By the end of mating season they've shed almost half their size. What a way to lose weight!
Finally as dusk settled in we headed off to the major tourist attraction on Phillip Island - The Fairy Penguin Parade. Each evening after sunset this colony of approximately 300 penguins come in from the sea to return to their nests among the sand dunes on Phillip Island. Fairy Penguins are no more than 12 inches high and boy are they cute!!!
As the sun
disappears from the sky the wind from the south is freezing as it
blows straight from Antartica, so it was a good thing we had
blankets and sweaters in the car.
Hundreds of tourists gather on the beach each night to watch these little
guys waddle across the sand up to feed their babies in the nests
hidden in the sand dunes - It really is a sight to see!!!
If you want to know more about Phillip Island, click here.