The Penguin Parade

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The Penguin Parade is the biggest tourist attraction in Victoria and the third biggest in Australia. I had already established that the War Memorial in Canberra was number two, but I never officially found out which was number one. I think that the Sydney Opera House would be a good bet. The guy who did our Great Ocean Road tour also ran tours to the Penguin Parade but he was unfortunately fully booked so I had to go with the old people on a coach tour. The guide managed to make himself heard over the moaning and he gave us a tour of the city on the way there - there were in fact several tourist bits that I hadn't covered after all. We later stopped at the "big worm", a giant work museum in the shape of a huge worm - yes, right, very tasteful.

There was a long wait before the 'parade' and it was bloody freezing waiting on the beach. Back in Melbourne shorts and a tee-shirt had been appropriate dress, but now I was suffering. Idiot! A Japanese tourist took pity on me and lent me a blanket.

Later on cute little Fairy Penguins started to come out of the sea and waddle up the beach, oblivious to the hordes of tourists gorping at them. Despite being told not to take flash photos of them as it could frighten them all back into the sea, there was of course the inevitable moron who got his camera confiscated.

I gave the blanket back to the tourist who looked very confused and didn't want it, so I had to force him to take it. A bit later on another one came along wondering what had happened to his blanket. Well, we probably all look the same to them as well!

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