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Published: January 21st 2007
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Winery
First stop of the tour was at a winery for a little tasting and to stretch the legs. Decided to take a shot of the field for those who aren't sure how grapes grow. Of the things to do around Melbourne, one of them is to go see the worlds smallest penguins up close and person at Philip Island which is home to Victoria's largest colony of the little penguins. There are quite a few tours heading out there from the city and all make little stops along the way to turn it into a day trip and help break up all the driving. Most of the tours will run you about $100 and have options to get a better view of the penguins for an extra fee but those who did it said it wasn't worth it since you can get very close to the penguins on the boardwalk as they head up the hill and the information the ranger told them is all in the visitors center if you just walk around and read the exhibits.
Our tour left nice and early at 7:30 or so and had a couple hours driving to get out of the city and into the country. Our first stop was at a small winery to try a couple of their wines and of course have the "special" discount for those on the tour. The wine was
Wombats
These 2 guys were shy at first but eventually came out to play. nothing special so wasn't going to pay $18 after our discount.
Our next stop of the day was at a wildlife reserve where we got to see koalas, kangaroos, wombats, dingos, tasmania devils, emu's, along with the a few others. You were able to feed most of the animals by hand which became interesting when swarmed by a group of kangaroos! Everyone got their photo with a koala, which could be bought for a fee of course, and we found out that it is illegal to touch koala's in Victoria because they are a protected species. They also told us that contrary to what most people have heard, koala's are not stoned from eating eucalyptus and that they sleep around 20 hours in the day.
After the wildlife reserve, we completed the journey out to philip island. Dinner was included in the tour cost and still an hour or so out so went onto the island for a quick tour. We went by the Philip Island Circuit, which is home to the Australian GP and had a walk along the Cape Woolamai surf beach. At the beach, the flies were out in full force and if you tried
Tasmanian Devil
Apparently these guys might become extinct on Tasmania like the Tasmanian Tiger due to a disease that is spreading through the population. They are brining healthy ones to the main land to avoid them becoming endangered. to talk to anyone, you would get a mouth full. the flies don't bother me too much unless they consistently fly into my ears or eyes which is pretty much a given. Might have to see about getting some insect repelant when I head north because I hear the flies are much much worse up there.
Once the beach walk was done, it was a quick pizza dinner and then off to the Nobbies where the seabirds were nesting and where you could see seal rock in the distance. The Nobbies (named because of its unique rock formations) lies off Point Grant at the western tip of Phillip Island. The area has high conservation significance featuring penguins and seabirds and, just off the coast, is Seal Rocks - home to Australia's second largest colony of Australian Fur Seals. Nobody felt like using the binoculars they had set up there to see if any seals were actually on the rock but we were assured there were always a couple.
After having a little tea and biscuits at Point grant, we took a little dirt coastal road from there towards the Penguin Parade site. In years past, people would have
Koala
Sleeping of course since they do that 20 hours of the day. been standing on the beach while the penguins walked around them to head up to their nest. This was playing havoc on their population which was dropping drastically so they set up grand stands and the visitors center to control the people. Now the penguin population is on the rise again though there are only a couple colonies left around the island with all the other ones having gone extinct. To help protect the penguins, they don't alow photography either and it's amazing how many people couldn't care less and try and take them anyways.
They built some stands on the beach where you sit and wait for it to get dark enough for them to cross. The penguins are vulnerable on the beach and usually takes them a little while to build up the courage to cross. They tend to be in groups of 5-10 mostly and more often then not, will come a few feet out of the water, wait a minute, then all turn and bolt back to the safety of the water. It is quite comical to watch. Our guide told us to watch the first couple of waves cross the beach then head back
Baby Koala
In victoria it is illegal to touch a koala but we can get as close as you want. along the boardwalk towards the visitors center to get a closer look. The penguins are the worlds smallest at about 33cm tall. It is the time of year when the chicks hatch so the entire area gets pretty loud when they start calling for their mates. I followed this one group all the way from the beach to the visitors center which is a good km from the beach alreadys. Some of the penguins will spend hours getting to their nest. I've been able to see penguins on some of the other tours I've done but you can't get all that close so depending how much you want to see of these little guys, this tour may not be worth it for you. I enjoyed the day though and can say I stood right next to one of them and he almost made it to my knee!
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