Phillip Island

I hope you like koalas, because I took about a hundred pictures of them when my parents were in town!

During mom and dad's visit, we wanted to take one "big" day trip from Melbourne. There are lots of places to see that are within a two to three hour drive of where we live, but after discussing our potential plans with a few locals and with our visitors, we determined that Phillip Island was a good choice. We started the day at the Nobbies Centre, where we learned a little bit about animal and sea life in Australia and also had a look at Seal Rocks, which at any point in time can house over 20,000 seals! Unfortunately you cannot actually see the seals from the Nobbies Centre, but if you pay a few dollars you can get close up views of the seals, as there are video cameras near the rocks that will zoom in, out, and around for you to get a glimpse of the seals. 

It's tough work sleeping 20 hours a day!

Next, we made our way to the Koala Conservation Centre. Here, boardwalks are strategically built around eucalyptus trees to entice koalas to build their homes there. I had read mixed reviews about this place and wasn't sure it would be worth the $11 admission fee, however, it was absolutely worth the trip. We saw several koalas, two with babies (called "joeys", just like baby kangaroos), and also several wallabies. In addition, there were a few birds spotted, including a robin sitting on her eggs.

If you look closely, you can see that the baby is hanging onto the branch and the mom has her arms wrapped around him. SO cute!

This momma has her left arm around her baby.

This wallaby was not getting any attention whatsoever from my mother!

Can you spot the robin? Not the best photo, as she was well-hidden.

This video was taken on my phone and is therefore probably not the best quality, but it is fun to hear our reactions when the koala unexpectedly decided to get out of the tree. I showed my parents so that you can get an idea of how close we were able to get to the koalas. The background noise you hear is actually cars racing on the Grand Prix course, which is a few miles away from the sanctuary. Apparently that noise has sadly driven some of the wildlife away. 

Koala Conservation Centre from Ashley Hanson on Vimeo.

Another wallaby looking for some attention.

Looking at faces like this just does not get old for me!

Our last stop of the evening was the Penguin Parade. Again, this was something that gets mixed reviews from locals and visitors. Some say it is a must-do and others say it is not worth the money. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable (albeit, cold) experience. Just after sunset, hundreds of "little penguins" (also called fairy penguins) begin to exit the water and come ashore, where they have burrows in the sand dunes. They tend to come out of the water in groups, and it is actually quite amusing to watch as they waddle to shore, trying to avoid being eaten by the seagulls! However, the most entertaining part is actually as you are walking back from the ocean, because the boardwalks have been built so that you can view the penguins going to their burrows. Also, inside the visitor's center, there are little "windows" into a few burrows so that you can look at the penguins that way. One of the penguins I saw through a window was actually sitting on two eggs. There is no lack of penguin viewing on the walk back to the car, and it is even mentioned to visitors to check under their vehicles for the little guys when leaving the area!

This bird was "pecking" at its reflection in the car and it was hilarious to watch!

Waiting on the little penguins. We had decent seats, but I definitely recommend getting there early to get spots in the first few rows, as it will make for much better penguin viewing.