Last November 3, 2018, we originally planned to fly to Perth but due to airline issues, our flight was cancelled. Not wanting to waste the day, me and Joel thought of something else to do and finally decided to drive down to Philip Island. It is just 90 minutes away from Melbourne and is Victoria's wildlife island.
We arrived at Philip Island at about 4pm and had a bit of time to eat. We chose to eat at the Fat Seagull.
We knew from the website that penguins arrive at sunset every evening but we also checked their penguin arrival time calendar. Since it was November, they were projected to arrive starting at 8:15pm. We went to the center at 7pm and we had time to look around. It was also suggested to arrive an hour early to explore the visitor center which contained information about different kinds of penguins and facts about them. It also had penguin merchandise being sold as well as refreshments.
With this amazing view in front of us.
We chose to pay for General Viewing, the rate for adult is $26.20. Other ticket options on their websites include Penguins Plus, Underground Viewing, Guided Ranger Tour, VIP Tour, Ultimate Adventure Tour and Little Wonders Family Tour.
After going around the visitor center, we then started to walk towards the viewing platform. We chose our seats nearest from the shore. This is clearly one advantage of being early. We braved through the cold and sat there for about an hour waiting for the penguins to come back home. We were given the instructions not to take photos with flash to protect the penguins and that we can grab photos from their website instead.
Also, we were fortunate to get the seats on the side since the rangers/ park staffs said it is a good spot. At first, it was hard for our eyes to get used to the dark and see their beaks from afar. But it did not take long when our eyes can spot them.
They were in groups and sometimes can't make up their mind if they would like to go to the shore or return back to the water. Understandable as they don't want to be eaten by their preys for dinner. It was fun spotting them and in total we saw 4 groups of penguins parading to their homes.
Also, we were fortunate to get the seats on the side since the rangers/ park staffs said it is a good spot. At first, it was hard for our eyes to get used to the dark and see their beaks from afar. But it did not take long when our eyes can spot them.
They were in groups and sometimes can't make up their mind if they would like to go to the shore or return back to the water. Understandable as they don't want to be eaten by their preys for dinner. It was fun spotting them and in total we saw 4 groups of penguins parading to their homes.
photo taken from https://www.penguins.org.au/photo-gallery/
Then people started to go. We thought that was it but much to our surprise the penguins can be seen on the side of the walking platform. It was much fun to watch them closer this way.
photo taken from https://www.penguins.org.au/photo-gallery/
They were so cute to see but its just that they smelled fishy! Well, if you're out in the ocean catching fish all day then that explains it haha! There were other things to do such as Antarctic Journey, Koala conservation and exploring Churchill Island but it was already late and maybe we'll come back for it soon.
We drove back to Melbourne feeling accomplished with what we have experienced. I almost gave up on making that day productive because of the unfortunate thing that happened with our first plans but our day turned out still interesting. One more tick in my Melbourne things to do! Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!
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