An island that is more than the sum of its parts
So, yesterday was the trip to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is a small island just off the coast of Victoria. It is predominately a nature park. More than 20% of the island is under private protectorship, not part of the National Park System, but instead privately held and financed lands. Another drive, though not nearly as far as the Great Ocean Road, thankfully. We headed down early in the morning, with plans booked for the Penguin Parade, which is actually around sunset. More on that in a bit.
This drive was much less stressful. The weather held up, and there wasn't even a hint of a shower the whole way down. This drive was South and East instead of South and West. When we got down there, we still had more than 7 hours before the parade. That left us some time to stop along the way.
The first stop was a commercial petting zoo. It was a bit sad, because it was obvious the animals weren't exactly well treated. It did, however, allow us the opportunity to hand feed a couple of Wallabies, some alpaca, and a couple of Kangaroos. It was only 8 bucks AUS to get in, so it wasn't too bad. We could have stayed for hours, but we wanted to hit the road.
Our next stop was the Koala conservatory. That was an experience unlike any other. The Koalas are technically wild, and are just held in place by barriers to keep them inside the commercial part of the sanctuary. That allowed us the opportunity to see some Koala really up close. There were 20 total, and Leah managed to see every one of them. She was great at spotting them in the trees, and then helped us see where they were. It was very cool. We took a ton of photos. The one that was the most significant was a young adult. It was too old for the pouch, or to be carried on momma's back, but not quite fully matured. It was about halfway up a tree, but the way they built the boardwalk, it was right at our eye level. Colleen took lots of pictures of it, and squealed a lot. I kept hassling her that the squeal sound was actually the kill sound for a Koala, and one would jump at her throat without warning. She took it in good nature.
From there, we went to the Nobbies, an outcropping of rocks that fur seals used to sun themselves. They weren't very close, but using the scopes they provided, for a usual fee, you could see them playing on the rocks. I thought it was pretty cool, since it was yet another example of Australian wildlife. There were more photo opportunities here. This part of the coast was oddly different from the Great Ocean Road. This coast was volcanic basalt, instead of limestone, so the rocks were slightly weathered, but no indication of the decay we saw along the Great Ocean Road. There were also a ton of birds nesting. We managed a couple of pictures of wild penguins, which was too cool. Some slightly mature, some chicks. All in all, it was well worth the experience.
The feature for the day was the Penguin Parade. Now, we didn't actually go on the Parade. That's a set of bleachers and concrete stands set up to allow people to watch. I signed us up for the Ultimate Penguin Tour. This was a separate tour that allowed only 15 people at a time. This night, it was just 5 and the ranger. The 5th (since it was Josh, Leah, Colleen and me) was actually a ranger from Tazmania who was up to see how penguin tours were done on the mainland. That meant it was two experts, and the four of us. We bundled up in provided wet weather gear, with a pack that included night vision glasses, and a flashlight. We then took a short ride away from the main parade to an exclusive beach. We walked to a wash river, and set up on provided mats and waited. Shortly after, we weren't disappointed. Little penguins started just popping up from the ocean in runs of 7 or 8 at a time, and heading toward the shore. They walked right past us. They swam into the wash river, heading back to their burrows. It was astounding. For the next hour, we sat around with our infrared lights, lighting up little bunches of penguins as they pushed back to their homes. It was incredible. I almost felt like I was working on some research project gathering data. I was so blown away. It ended with us walking back to the main center, and along the way, we had to stop to allow penguins to cross the road. There was also some water bird that didn't walk well on land, so it looked slightly injured, but it really wasn't. It was the most incredible thing I had ever had the chance to do.
Once again, the weather managed to hold. I couldn't believe our luck. The forecast was for rain, and we didn't see any of it. It was even clear enough that Colleen and I took the chance to see some stars through the scopes. That was also an amazing sight.
By the time we got back to town, it was very late. This time, since there was no rain, I was able to get into town without issue. I took the exit the way I remembered from some cab rides, and we got to the parking deck without incident. That was a good deal for me, since the night after the Great Ocean Road, I was pretty stressed. It was pouring rain, we technically didn't have a room, and I was relying on someone else to give me directions, and it seemed I kept missing the turn by one block, and being forced down a one way road somewhere else. :-(
It's Colleen! Last night was AMAZING! The penguins were so cute, and I learned a lot. I DID NOT squeal at the koalas!!(okay, maybe just a little)hee hee. There was this little joey just out of his mama's pouch that just sat there and let us take tons of pics of him!! I got one of him looking directly at my camera-I want one sooo bad!!!! He was so cute!! I also realized I want kids more than ever now! I guess it was something about the maternal instincts of the animals. It could also be the married penguins who clean each other! G'Day!
OK, we're going to sign off again for now. After being lazy all day, we are going to head to the zoo and the market. I still can't believe we don't have all the souvenirs. We must be insane. :-)
Cheers!
This drive was much less stressful. The weather held up, and there wasn't even a hint of a shower the whole way down. This drive was South and East instead of South and West. When we got down there, we still had more than 7 hours before the parade. That left us some time to stop along the way.
The first stop was a commercial petting zoo. It was a bit sad, because it was obvious the animals weren't exactly well treated. It did, however, allow us the opportunity to hand feed a couple of Wallabies, some alpaca, and a couple of Kangaroos. It was only 8 bucks AUS to get in, so it wasn't too bad. We could have stayed for hours, but we wanted to hit the road.
Our next stop was the Koala conservatory. That was an experience unlike any other. The Koalas are technically wild, and are just held in place by barriers to keep them inside the commercial part of the sanctuary. That allowed us the opportunity to see some Koala really up close. There were 20 total, and Leah managed to see every one of them. She was great at spotting them in the trees, and then helped us see where they were. It was very cool. We took a ton of photos. The one that was the most significant was a young adult. It was too old for the pouch, or to be carried on momma's back, but not quite fully matured. It was about halfway up a tree, but the way they built the boardwalk, it was right at our eye level. Colleen took lots of pictures of it, and squealed a lot. I kept hassling her that the squeal sound was actually the kill sound for a Koala, and one would jump at her throat without warning. She took it in good nature.
From there, we went to the Nobbies, an outcropping of rocks that fur seals used to sun themselves. They weren't very close, but using the scopes they provided, for a usual fee, you could see them playing on the rocks. I thought it was pretty cool, since it was yet another example of Australian wildlife. There were more photo opportunities here. This part of the coast was oddly different from the Great Ocean Road. This coast was volcanic basalt, instead of limestone, so the rocks were slightly weathered, but no indication of the decay we saw along the Great Ocean Road. There were also a ton of birds nesting. We managed a couple of pictures of wild penguins, which was too cool. Some slightly mature, some chicks. All in all, it was well worth the experience.
The feature for the day was the Penguin Parade. Now, we didn't actually go on the Parade. That's a set of bleachers and concrete stands set up to allow people to watch. I signed us up for the Ultimate Penguin Tour. This was a separate tour that allowed only 15 people at a time. This night, it was just 5 and the ranger. The 5th (since it was Josh, Leah, Colleen and me) was actually a ranger from Tazmania who was up to see how penguin tours were done on the mainland. That meant it was two experts, and the four of us. We bundled up in provided wet weather gear, with a pack that included night vision glasses, and a flashlight. We then took a short ride away from the main parade to an exclusive beach. We walked to a wash river, and set up on provided mats and waited. Shortly after, we weren't disappointed. Little penguins started just popping up from the ocean in runs of 7 or 8 at a time, and heading toward the shore. They walked right past us. They swam into the wash river, heading back to their burrows. It was astounding. For the next hour, we sat around with our infrared lights, lighting up little bunches of penguins as they pushed back to their homes. It was incredible. I almost felt like I was working on some research project gathering data. I was so blown away. It ended with us walking back to the main center, and along the way, we had to stop to allow penguins to cross the road. There was also some water bird that didn't walk well on land, so it looked slightly injured, but it really wasn't. It was the most incredible thing I had ever had the chance to do.
Once again, the weather managed to hold. I couldn't believe our luck. The forecast was for rain, and we didn't see any of it. It was even clear enough that Colleen and I took the chance to see some stars through the scopes. That was also an amazing sight.
By the time we got back to town, it was very late. This time, since there was no rain, I was able to get into town without issue. I took the exit the way I remembered from some cab rides, and we got to the parking deck without incident. That was a good deal for me, since the night after the Great Ocean Road, I was pretty stressed. It was pouring rain, we technically didn't have a room, and I was relying on someone else to give me directions, and it seemed I kept missing the turn by one block, and being forced down a one way road somewhere else. :-(
It's Colleen! Last night was AMAZING! The penguins were so cute, and I learned a lot. I DID NOT squeal at the koalas!!(okay, maybe just a little)hee hee. There was this little joey just out of his mama's pouch that just sat there and let us take tons of pics of him!! I got one of him looking directly at my camera-I want one sooo bad!!!! He was so cute!! I also realized I want kids more than ever now! I guess it was something about the maternal instincts of the animals. It could also be the married penguins who clean each other! G'Day!
OK, we're going to sign off again for now. After being lazy all day, we are going to head to the zoo and the market. I still can't believe we don't have all the souvenirs. We must be insane. :-)
Cheers!
posted by Derek Botti at
3:03 PM
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