Oct 3, Wednesday

Oct 3, Wednesday

Left Melbourne and drove along the coast towards Phillip Island.  The lady at the reception desk at the Brighton Savoy gave me directions but somehow things did not go quite according to plan.  After a few tourist detours however I was able to find an alternate route and made it to the South Gippsland Highway and then on the Bass Highway.  I stopped for gas along the way and there happened to be a MacDonalds there.  I’m not a fan of the golden arches, however they have been advertising a Lamb Burger on TV and I decided to give it a try.  Quite tasty !

Part of the drive was along the coast of  Port Phillip Harbour

The rolling hills on the drive to Phillip Island

As I arrived in San Remo, before crossing the bridge to the island, I stopped in at the Pelican Motel and reserved a room for tonight.  The lady owner was SO NICE !  When I told her I would be going to see the Penguin Parade she not only told me to bring a couple of sweaters and jacket, but gave me a blanket to sit on and wrap up my legs.  She said that even on a beautiful warm day like today, by 7:15 it would be really cold on the waterfront.  Once across the bridge I stopped at the tourist information office and found out that I could purchase a “3 Park Pass” that would allow me to see not only the Penguin Parade, but also the Koala Conservation Centre and Churchill Island Heritage Farm.  With my pass in hand, I drove the short distance to Churchill Island.

Hélène,  I thought of you when I saw these long horns; not quite as big as in Texas, but still impressive

The farmhouse dates back to 1872.    { Hélène: From a note on the wall in the house, about one of the owners: “Samuel Kirkby Pickersgill (1826-1902) came to Australia as a result of the stories told by Lt. Richard Pickersgill, the navigator and charter for Lt. James Cook on his voyages to Australia.” I wonder if they were related to your Mr. Pickersgill ? ! ! }

 The farm yard and corals

 This little guy, a Ghalla, blue and pink parrot, was just strolling across the farmyard.  Same bird as in Alice Springs (birds on the wires).  This is a much better picture of them.

 And speaking of beautiful birds, this peacock was actually posing.  "I'm ready for my shot Mr. DeMill."

And they had a huge wooded enclosure with a family of wallabies in it.

From there I drove on to the Koala Conservation Centre.  They are dedicated to koala research and conservation; they have been pivotal in saving Phillip Island’s koala population with their breeding program.  They have two woodland enclosures as well as walking trails.  I strolled through both on the elevated boardwalks.  The first enclosure was suppose to contain 10 or 12 koalas, but I only managed to spot 6 of them, all sleeping on high branches. 

 I needed to use the zoom, but I managed to catch a few photos of them

 
 These are the elevated wooden boardwalks

 Check out this one, with half closed eyes.  How they manage to stay up on those branches and sleep is amazing.  You can see on some of the pictures that they aren't even hanging on with their claws.
Notice that they don’t build nests, they just find a comfortable position in the forks of trees and sleep. Their thick fur protects them from the cold, and their strong sharp claws on their hands and feet make it possible for them to climb up the branches. They locate the best eucalyptus leaves by sniffing them.

I only saw three in the second enclosure, but the one little guy (or maybe gal ?) was very curious and ended up going walk-about.

 Here's the one that provided us with the best show in town

when he went walk-about.  How cute is he... she...

 There are walking trails beyond the enclosures.  The green barrier at the bottom is the only thing that keeps the koalas from wandering off.

A last photo of our little entertainer before I left.

Phillip Island is very compact, only 26 kms by 9 kms, with about 10,000 residents and 16,000 breeding pairs of penguins.   It only took about 10 minutes to drive to the tip of the island to visit “The Nobbies” at Point Grant.

 Shelly Beach, on the northern coast of the island.

 The Nobbies, at Point Grant, on the south-western tip of Phillip Island

 Point Grant

 The wooden boardwalks at Point Grant

 The southern coast, from Point Grant

 The boardwalks make it easy to get great photos from viewing areas

The Nobbies at Point Grant

 As I walked back to the car, I spotted this Mother Goose with her two little chicks.

I had to be at the Penguin Parade Centre by 5:45, and the owner at the Pelican Motel had advised me that I should get something to eat before, since most restaurants would be closed by the time it was finished. There was a nice little lunch counter at the Nobbies Centre and they had “beer battered fish” on their menu. Sounded good even though it was a big meal and I had eaten a substantial lunch. No problem, just get a “take away” container for half the meal and I was all set.

I can’t show you photos of the Penguin Parade, and not even of the beach, since once you pass the entrance you are not allowed to take any pictures or film. The little penguins are breeding right now and they don’t want them disturbed in any way. At this time of the year, the female has layed her eggs and both she and the male are taking turns sitting on the eggs. The penguins who were coming in had been out at sea for about 3 days and were coming to replace their mate on the nest. They were SO CUTE ! and tiny, about the same size as the sea gulls. 

 I took a picture of a brochure as a souvenir however.  To left are the stands we were sitting in for the viewing.  You can see the Little Blue Penguins coming in on the beach and making their way to the dunes beside the stands, where their burrows are located.

I drove back across the island, following a long line of cars and returned safely to the Pelican Motel in San Remo.  As I was getting ready to take my shower, I noticed this sign for water conservation.  Good idea, we should all do this!


It was a great day; and a memorable one.