I love animals and I love animals in the wild even more so when I saw that going to see wild penguins in their natural habitat was an option whilst visiting Melbourne I jumped at the chance. I booked 2 tickets for this attraction through Viator for £95.18 (which included a 50% discount). The little penguins are the smallest species of penguin in the world. They grow on average to 33cm (13inches) in height. With the largest colony in the world, approximately 32,000, living on Phillip Island.
Getting There
The price of the ticket includes transport from hotels in Melbourne. We were picked up at 2.00pm (middle of September) and driven in a comfortable coach through Melbourne and the surrounding countryside down to Phillip Island. The journey took around 90 minutes. We arrived on Phillip Island and our bus driver took us to see the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. It is now famous for Superbike and Supercar championships (if you’re into that sort of thing).
Phillip Island Visitor Information Centre
We arrived at the Phillip Island Visitor Information Centre and handed tickets for the parade and for a meal in the cafe. We opted for fish and chips and a soft drink each. There are a couple of gift shops in the Visitors Centre allowing us the opportunity to buy souvenirs, which we did. We were asked to make our way out just before sunset. Our ticket was for the Penguin Plus Viewing Platform (only holds 150 people) which allows you to get closer to the beach where the penguins would appear from the sea on the way back to their burrows. If you decide that this is something you would like to do please remember to wrap up warm especially in Australia’s winter months as you are outside and at the mercy of the elements for quite a while.
Seeing the Main Attraction
The ranger gave us a full explanation of what to expect and as the sun set, we started to hear what sounded like ducks quacking! This is, in fact, the penguins in the sea making their way ashore. Lighting is minimal and photography is not allowed at all. This is because it can damage the penguin’s eyesight. However, having sat through sunset our eyes became accustomed to the dim light. We watched hundreds of little penguins emerge from the sea and waddle along the sand to their burrows. There they feed their young with their day’s catch of anchovies and pilchards. This sight was truly magical and something that will stay with me forever.
As you are not allowed to take pictures I bought a lovely little reminder of the evening……
Penguin from Philip Island, Australia
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