Melbourne & the Penguins

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We only had a few days in Melbourne before our Christmas in Sydney so our trip here was a bit rushed but we had enough time to see a bit of the busy city and take a trip to see the penguins on Phillip Island.

We arrived early in the morning after an overnight bus trip but we managed to get a bit of sleep... but sleeping on a coach is nowhere near as comfortable as a bed! We were a bit tired when we got into Melbourne but were awake for the journey into the city and we both felt as if we were back in the 'big smoke' again after seeing Western Oz and Adelaide. A bit bleary eyed, and in need of plenty of caffeine, we still managed to cram a trip around the city and made it to the top of the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere. We thought the weather in Melbourne was a bit unpredictable, however we had arrived to glorious sunshine but by lunch time it had started to rain...heavily!!! We spent the afternoon walking around the city, dodging the rain but by the time we got back to our guesthouse the roads were beginning to flood....oh no we thought not another Vietnam!!! Well... thankfully no, the rain carried on for the next day but nowhere near as heavily, although the temperature had dropped to below 20c so very cold!!!

The next day we took a tour to Phillip Island, stopping on the way at a winery to sample some of the local produce on the way and then a quick stop at a wildlife park..... this was unfortunately more like a zoo where you could feed the animals (koala's, emu's & kangaroo's) but it also had a sanctuary for abandoned animals where they currently had a baby wombat and a baby wallaby. We travelled on and luckily the rain held off for us to view the penguin's. Every night these small penguins waddle up the beaches of Phillip Island to their nests in groups just after sunset, so we sat on the beach as one by one they gathered in groups just off the beach. They would start to make their way up the beach but generally they would stop and if one would got spooked they would all run back to the sea. Once they were all brave enough they would swim back to the beach and this time make it up the beach....it was so comical watch!!! One would always fall over, one would always be slow and then realising it was behind would try and run to catch up! They would then walk up through the grasslands to their nests...amazingly some have to walk 1.5km every time!!! Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures of the cute little clumsy penguins, as the flash would hurt their eye's.

With the lead up to Christmas, Melbourne city centre was extremely busy with shoppers everywhere...just like every other big city. But away from that madness, we found Melbourne to be a really pretty city. It is on the banks of the Yarra river which we had a walk along on our last day when the sun made another appearance, which was lined with trees and parkland, so very picturesque.

From here we were both looking forward to Xmas in Sydney, albeit on another overnight bus!

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Photos

Albert Park
The F1 race track

The Rod Laver Stadium and MCG
Where the tennis Grand Slam is held in January each year, plus the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground