Phillip Island Wednesday 6th/Thursday 7th October 2010

On our way to Phillip Island, we received a phone call from the Seal Rocks tour to advise the weather was closing in and we should attempt to reach Phillip Island that day or we would miss out on our tour. The seas were going to be too rough the following day. As we were close by we managed to get to the Island in time. We boarded the boat ready to brave the seas to see the seals. It was quite rough heading out of Western Port and it took a while to get out to the Islands.

Once at the island, you could smell the seals before you could see them ! The island was literally crawling with seals. They were sleeping, swimming, fighting and playing.

They were not frightened of the boat or the people and quite happily sized us up and swam around the boat.

There were lots of baby ones who were very cute playing in the rough water. They didn't seem to mind how rough the waves were and often got swept off their perch only to climb back on again until the next wave hit.

The boat stayed out near the island for about an hour and we were able to watch them from quite close range. Meanwhile the weather had turned and the rain began to fall out to sea.

We headed back to the harbour and got drenched walking back to the van park. It rained heavily all night but next morning the sun shone again.

We headed out to the Nobbies at the end of the Island. This is a sea gull rookery and thousands of birds and their chicks were nesting on the cliffs. You can see the seal rocks from this vantage point.

The chicks are brown and speckled and blend into the grass. They were all enjoying the warm sun out of the fierce wind, which whipped up the waves crashing onto the rocks below. If only we could harness the power of those waves, we could have all the electricity we would need!

The Conservation centre has an educational facility and a cafe and overlooks the seal rocks and the rookery.

We then went on to the Grand Prix track. It was quite expensive to tour so we decided to leave and just photograph the entrance gate. As we stopped at the gates, an ambulance driver stopped beside us and told us of a side road nearby from where we could see almost all the track for free. There were bikes practising for the Moto GP and we were able to see and photograph all of it for nothing. Right place - right time!

We next visited the Vietnam Veterans Museum which was especially relevant as Laurel had lived through the war time and had special memories of that time. The museum was amazing and well worth the visit.

Near the bridge to Phillip Island at San Remo the pelicans are fed every day at noon. Hundreds of pelicans wait for the hand out from the fish co-op every day.

Later that evening, we went to the Penguin Parade. We decided to splurge and paid extra for the "Penguin Plus" option. That enabled us to go to a special boardwalk section, where we sat in the front row only several feet from where the penguins walked.  After darkness fell, the penguins appeared, waddling up the beach in lots of about 20 at a time. They stopped right in front of us, preened their feathers, had a power nap then walked on up the hill. This parade continued for over an hour. They are the most cute little things and look almost like clock work toys. Apparently, where we were seated had the most penguins of the night - over 300 passed our spot. Once again, right place, right time!

Unfortunately, you cannot take any photos at the parade so we had to make do with photos from inside the display at the education centre. This is one event worth every cent.