Phillip Island, Victoria

---

Phillip Island

Mission: To explore one of Victoria's most southern points

Two nights and three days with the family presented a tricky getaway and obviously meant it had to be one close by. Destination of choice: Phillip Island, something within a two hour drive. Importantly, accommodation needed to be close to everything given it was a whirlwind escape.

First stop: DriveNow My second home again delivered the goods, this time with a Britz four berth Voyager from around the $80 a day mark, which was ridiculously cheap. Second stop was Big4 Phillip Island to book a powered site.


The adventure
The Britz Voyager drove like a dream and the cruise to Phillip Island was easy - hit the Monash Freeway and follow the exit to Phillip Island along the South Gippsland Highway (M420) near Cranbourne. Soldier on and follow the signs which will take you to the Bass Highway (A420). At the roundabout turn right into the Phillip Island Tourist Road (B420) and soak up the views as you head over the bridge at San Remo, but before that make sure you pop into the fish'n'chip shop on the left before you reach the bridge! Scrumptious! All up it probably takes about 1 hr and 45, in what is a reasonalby comfortable drive. The Big4 park is ideally located right near the beach in Newhaven with lots of trees and gardens and within 10 minutes drive of all the big attractions on the island. The Phillip Island Caravan Park is a beauty, basic enough, practical, shady and most importantly, very clean with great service supplied by staff. A beaut spot to set up camp.

The attractions
Where do you start? One of the first things the kids wanted to do was hit the beach and there are ample options on the island, including Smiths Beach, Red Rocks Beach and Cowes Beach, this one particularly great for kids but beware it's very, very popular in summer and mass populated. This absorbed most of our three days. There's loads of natural highlights too, so go off the beaten path a little and stop at steep clifftops and check out the roaring surf. There's great shopping in the township of Cowes with a variety of restaurants, but during really busy summer months the road gets extremely busy and if you can help steering clear, there's much to do else where: trout fishing farm on the middle of the island where you're guaranteed a catch; the mighty penguin parade which is Phillip Island's signature attraction that we thoroughly enjoyed on the first night and A Maze N Things for to test your sense of logic and have some fun.

In summary ...
Superb. The only thing, apparently, is it's not a long summer in this southern piece of earth, so you're best to look at January and February for some serious sunshine. Then again, if you don't mind rugging up a little during the cooler times, you'll also avoid the crowds. Overall, the Big4 park was very suitable for a family of four, the food in town great and there's lots to do. What we experienced was merely the tip of the iceberg. Will definitely get the Voyager campervan hire again at some point through www.drivenow.com.au and most certainly will return to Phillip Island.

---

Photos

Voyager
Voyager - runs like a dream

fairy penguins
fairy penguins - a big hit with the kids