Located around 125km south-east of Melbourne, roughly 2hrs drive, Phillip Island is a fantastic destination with small fishing villages, spectacular coastal scenery and abundant wildlife.
Phillip Island is a tourist destination visited by 3.5 million people annually. The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island Nature Park, in which Little Penguins come ashore in groups, attracts visitors from all over the world. They come to see one of the few areas where this species of penguin can be seen.
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
The little penguins, native to Australia, are the smallest of their species, growing to a mere 33 cm in height. They possess waterproof feathers and are most plentiful in summer when they are rearing their young. Each evening, just on dusk, thousands of little penguins make their way back to their burrows in the sand dunes at the back of Summerland Beach. The penguins go out to sea each day to catch food (mostly pilchards and other small fish) for themselves and their young. They return to the beach in 'rafts' (groups - sometimes of only a few, sometimes of some dozens) and make their way up the beach to their nests where they lay a couple of eggs which take about six weeks to hatch. The chicks remain in the nest for two months.
In recent times the activity has become so hugely popular (it is the No. 1 tourist attraction in Victoria) that a substantial visitors' centre with award-winning educational displays, a cafe, a theatrette and a souvenir shop has been established on the site. It is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to dusk. Walkways and boardwalks have been constructed to keep visitors off the dunes, and the viewing area is built somewhat like a football stadium or a theatre with multiple viewing positions.
Visitors must keep to the designated viewing areas. Rangers strictly patrol the site and are very tough on people who break the regulations which strictly prohibit the use of cameras and video cameras beyond the visitor centre.
our faithful campervan for two...comfy, even slept in it at a park
Lunch break....fish n Chips and fantastic roast chicken...