After a pub lunch we were picked up to be driven to Phillip Island about 2 hours outside of Melbourne. Our first stop was at a winery for some local wine tasting. Then we went to the Koala Conservatory and walked among the eucalypts, which is a 'gum tree' (kookaburra sits in the old gum tree....remember that song?--and we have seen and heard the kookaburras). We saw several koalas up in the trees. The conservatory has elevated platforms to walk on through the trees to get you up off the ground for better viewing of the koalas. We also saw wallabies, which are like small kangaroos.
 |
| Koala |
After dinner at a local restaurant we headed to the coastline of the island for the "Penquin Parade". Every evening at sunset hundreds of little penquins (fairy penquins) come ashore and waddle across the sand to their burrows in the hillside. This was the most amazing experience. The penquins were fun to watch as they swam in from the ocean, organized themselves into small groups of 5-12, and then waddled across the beach and up the hill...they really do form somewhat of a line and it looks like they are marching in. We were in a group of 10 with a guide that brought us to some terrific viewing spots. No photos were allowed to be taken as the flashes would scare the penquins so all I have is the photo taken inside the visitor center.
Now we are packing our bags and will soon head to the airport for a flight to Hobart, Tasmania, which is the last destination for this most wonderful trip downunder. This might be the last posting for awhile as I would not be surprised that the hotels we will be staying will not have internet access. If that's the case, I'll catch up when I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment