Not just Little Penguins

 

There is certainly more to Phillip Island than those wonderful Little Penguins.

As we crossed the bridge leaving the mainland town of San Remo behind we both breathed a huge sigh.

Open fields, rolling hills, cattle, sheep - SPACE....AIR....BREATH!

We need this, from time to time we need to get away from the claustrophobia of the city, the impending walls of concrete that seem to make us feel so hemmed in.

We headed towards Cowes, twinned with the one on the Isle of Wight and we were delighted with our weekend haven.

It's quirky and we like quirky a lot.

We replenished our depleted wine stocks at the Phillip Island Vineyard, far better we thought than the Purple Hen Vineyard which seems to get more press for some reason. Delightful Pinot Noir and a wonderful Blush were purchased after a leisurely tasting.

We went up to the headland to The Nobbies (so called because the rocks protrude out of the water like nobs or stacks). Seagull breeding season was in full swing and full voice! I have to say even Seagull babies are pretty cute. It was quite a sight and stunningly beautiful.

The furthest of the "Nobbies" is home to the biggest colony of Australian Fur Seals in the world about 6000 of them.

We baulked at the $70 each price tag to go on a trip to see them and did it anyway. It really was worth every penny and the complementary afternoon tea and cake was a nice touch.

Once again it was breeding season and seal pups were in abundance. Each area of territory was fiercely protected by a huge bull who would not tolerate any other male coming anywhere near his herd of cows.

They will literally fight to the death rather than give up their girls!

It was an incredible sight and a deafening sound however the acrid and pungent smell of ammonia from their feces was overwhelming.  Every now and again you would get a huge waft downwind which sent you immediately for cover in the cabin.

On our visit to the Koala Conservation Centre (fantastic value at just $11 each), luck was on our side once more. Koalas spend most of their time in the tree tops, sleeping for 20 hours a day and so are very difficult to spot. However, a few of the koalas had come down to the lower branches to feed and we had a great view.

We were lucky to come across a wild Wallaby too, which appeared quite happy to sit and pose for us!

One of the most surprising finds was the Vietnam Veterans museum. It was fascinating, extremely well done and very emotive. I was surprised to learn that Australian and New Zealanders fought in Vietnam too. Hollywood would have us believe it was only the Americans. For Hubster to spend nearly 2 hours in a museum is a first so it had to be good.

All in all we packed a lot into our mini-break but we still managed to feel buoyed and rested.

Of course we couldn't leave without that final seafood lunch of Tasmanian Oysters and Rock Lobster salad which we enjoyed at a fabulous restaurant called Shearwater, great food and lovely sea view.

Phillip Island, what a gem, see you again in March 2013!

 

Little Penguins

Phillip Island.

A multi-faceted gem of a place just an hour and a half drive from home.

It is only 26km long and 9km wide but it packs a lot in. In many respects it reminded me of our little county of Rutland back home, where the motto is "multum in parvo" - "much in little". It certainly could also apply here.

One of the main attractions but by no means the only one, is the Penguin Parade. The island is home to a healthy colony of Little Penguins, the smallest of the 17 varieties in the world and the only place in the world where you will see them like this.

We were not allowed to take any photos or video. I quite like that, 2000 flashing cameras would have been nothing but an invasion, so these pics are taken from archives.

Each evening, after a long day fishing, these little 13 inch birds emerge from the surf and waddle up the beach into the dunes, to their burrows. Some of them have to walk 1.5km to reach their homes. It must be exhausting.

Every break of the waves produces little pods of  pengiuns that come in together until all 1500 eventually arrive. They seem to just appear from nowhere but never alone.

We were there at the perfect time of year as every burrow was occupied by one or two fluffy baby penguins. They were all eagerly awaiting the return of their parents, some were very impatient and left the safety of the burrow to stage a lookout and boy do they make a racket!

It is amazing how every penguin recognises the call of their own and when they are reunited, the poor exhausted parents are mobbed and wrestled to the ground as the babies compete for their fare share of the day's catch.

There were over 2000 spectators that night and the little penguins could not have cared less. They waddled about around our feet focused only on their journey home.

Hubster and I were one of the last to leave, it was 10pm.

"Come on now, time to go" said the Ranger "Lets leave the night to the penguins"

The TV documentary I had seen and been enthralled by back home just last year had actually come to life.

We could hardly believe that we had just witnessed, first hand, one of nature's most rare and beautiful wildlife phenomena.

We left marvelling at these incredibly resilient little birds. They are so industrious that by daylight the next day, whilst we were still tucked up in our beds. they would have already made the journey back to the sea, just to do their parade all over again.