Phillip Island

Sean finished work early. Well, not really, days he does a transect he is supposed to finish around 2 – 2:30 pm but is rarely home then. However, today he was home before Aiden was done school so we packed up the car to head to Phillip Island. Me, being the dutiful wife that I am, had everything ready to go. We picked Aiden up from school and headed out.

Instead of heading directly to Phillip Island, we went to Lorne to meet Scott (one of the current Canadian exchangees) and Aaron (an Australian exchangee that was at RMNP) for drinks. Both Sean and I were a little weary about Aiden being in a pub but Aaron assured us that it would be all right. Aiden was more then content to sit and draw while watching all the foolish adults. Scott and Aaron work for the same park operations unit and all the staff were out celebrating a birthday. We took Scott up on his offer to stay at his place and headed there after about an hour.

We were up and at it early on Saturday. We caught the ferry at Queenscliff over the Sorrento. It ‘cost a bomb’ but Aiden enjoyed it and let us avoid the city traffic. Oops, now that I’ve said “bomb” national security will be watching this. We reached Phillip Island shortly after lunch. Phillip Island is a busy hollie destination, however a forecast of bad weather meant we were almost alone on the island! Great! Our first stop was a chocolate factory. Yummmm, great chocolate!!

A-maze-n-things was our destination for the afternoon. Sean and I stopped here when we were in Oz in ’93 and remembered it as one of our favourite places. It didn’t let us down. It was all we remembered it to be and better. We got lost in it! Well not really but did get caught up in all the fun of it. They have expanded it and added a fabulous mirror maze, where we reflected on the best way to get through. Hate to be the poor bloke that has to clean them. In the new illusions room, we defied gravity, had our heads on a platter and had to put our thinking caps on to solve the gate puzzles for a treasure. We also played a round of mini golf. It was an elaborate and challenging course. A very recommended and enjoyable way to spend the day if you are puzzle minded. The afternoon quickly disappeared and we reluctantly had to leave and head to Cowes in search of evening tea.

After pizza we made our way out to the south-west side of the island to the Penguin Parade visitor centre. Not very busy as the weather was cool and it was threatening to rain. The VC was full of interesting facts and displays about the little penguins. There were six view holes into real penguin burrows. One molting penguin was all that was home. We were allowed to walk down to the beach about 45 minutes before dusk. It is quite touristy but needs to be in order to protect the penguins and their habitat. There is a boardwalk that goes down to the beach where there are concrete steps that double as bleachers. We settled down with about 1000 terrorists/tourists (this is a quite night, they can have over 3000 a night in the summer) and waited. Waited for what? Well, dusk and then the Little Penguins coming home from a day or week of fishing. They arrive at the waters edge in small groups of 3 or 4 and wait there until the raft grows to a least 10 or more. When everyone in the group feels comfortable they make a break and waddle up the beach to the safety of their burrows in the grasses. Depending on the time of year, 1000 or so can come home in a night. February/March is molting season and sees around 500 each night. Yes there are actually rangers out on the beach counting them all as they return home. Numbers for the night were 567.

Of course waiting for the raft to feel confident enough is no small feat. There are many false starts as the raft waddles off and the last guy loses his courage and drops back, his buddy next to him notices this and drops back as well and soon the entire raft is returning to the shoreline. It can take 4 or 5 attempts before they gain enough confidence and cross the beach. It is quite cute to see them, especially the chubby ones getting ready to molt, however you can't help but feel for the little creatures and their quest for safety. Apparently several hundred noisy humans in concrete stands with spotlights on the beach do not add to their anxiety. I find that hard to believe.

A heavy rain shower about 20 minutes in left us almost alone on the beach. The walk back up to the VC gave a better view of the penguins. A number of burrows are within sight of the boardwalk and many penguins waddle along beside the boardwalk to get back home. We were even able to see a few chicks out waiting to be fed.

The next morning found us at the Koala Conservation Centre.  These critters are the flip side of the energy of the penguins. They eat the leaves of the eucalyptus tree and the energy from them is so minimal that it leaves them with little energy, so they spend most of their lives sleeping.
We saw several up in the trees, mostly nestled asleep. Along one of the treetop boardwalks we were treated to four in one area. Many of the koalas were inactive except this young one. He scratched, halfheartedly reached for a fresh branch of leaves, munched on it a little then searched for another and looked at us. Way too cute!

Next we headed to Churchill Island heritage farm. It was part of the three park deal so figured we should stop and check it out. In the advertisement for the 3-park pass there is a picture of a person by a penguin, by a koala and one by a horse. We had seen the penguins and the koalas so Aiden set off on his mission to find the horse. It was like a step back in time. The entire island is a historical working farm with the original cottage and house that have been restored to their 19th century condition and charm.

It was deemed necessary to stop at the chocolate factory for lunch and to stock up on chocolate for the drive home through the city. We made good time even through the city and made it home around 7:30 pm.

We had a fabulous and fun filled weekend. Thanks again Jody, Shereen, Brandon and Brett for the awesome Christmas gift.