Wine and Penguins – Why Not?
(Location: Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia)
After returning from sailing in The Whitsundays, we had a few days to kill before returning to work so we made an impromptu road trip to the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island. By “quick trip to the Mornington Peninsula” I mean that we drove through there on the way to the island (with stops at Stonier and Ten Minutes by Tractor).
Once in Phillip Island:
- We stayed at the Holmwood Guest House, because it was literally the only place available (there was a classic car rally that weekend). That said, the guesthouse was fabulous, in a great location, and fed us a lovely breakfast before we hit the road the following day
- We went to see the nightly penguin parade. Because we planned this literally a day in advance, only general admission tickets were available. We got there early and had good seats down front – next time we’ll bring a picnic to help pass the time while waiting for the little birds. Sure enough, as soon as it got dark, the thousand little penguins (that is what this species is called) emerged from the ocean and marched across the sand to their chicks who were waiting in the burrows. There is a strict “no photography” policy, so unfortunately no pics of this phenomena.
- We spent Sunday morning hiking at Cape Woolamai. Despite there being a few hundred people on the beach (life saving club activities), the trail was completely deserted. From the car park, we walked down the beach and then climbed the stairs to reach the black route (approximately 6 mile circuit with amazing views). This would have been a perfect hike if it weren’t for the wildly aggressive flies ! It is a VERY good thing there was a breeze – next time, LOTS of repellent.
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