Melbourne, Australia Day 4: 1 Day Phillip Island Penguin Parade Tour

Date of Visit: 3rd October 2012

Just like Great Ocean Road Tour on the day before, the driver picked me up directly from where I stayed and once again, I was the first passenger inside the tour bus. The guests that join this tour were  not as many as Great Ocean Road one, approximately less than 20 but it wasn't a bad sign after all. Before the tour start, I bumped into a girl who was also travelling alone just like me and she was from China who is currently study in Sydney. To be honest, no offense but I kinda dislike China tourists based on my past experiences where most of them were so rude, impolite, dirty and etc but except for this one I met, she was the odd one. Unlike the typical China people, she was friendly and helpful indeed. Too bad after the trip I lost her contact.

This Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour most likely highlighted the best of Victoria's wildlife where we got the chance to get up close and personal with most of Australian animals. No wonder, the famous Malaysian travel blogger, Wilson Ng from Places and Foods claimed that Australia is a zoo without fences.

#1: Our first pit-stop after more than 2 hours bus ride from the city center, Moonlit Sanctuary  - Victoria's award-winning Wildlife Park.

#2: What can be seen in this Eco-certified santuary were angaroos, wallabies, koala bears, ostriches, lizards, dingoes, southern bettong, eastern quoalls and more.

#3: I even had the opportunity for close Koala encounter that cost me AUD$10 but seriously speaking, it really worth and no regret for the rest of my life.

#4: Bought a packet of foods and hand-feed all these adorable and charming wallabies

#5: Actually, the food was bought by this girl from China and she was so kind to share with me.

#6: Our next destination was Koala Conservation Centre

#7: This is where we wandered the tree-top boardwalks and strolled through Australia bushland for up-close encounters with these wild fury kind in their natural habitat. 

#8: From there, we moved on to historic Churchill Island for sheep shearing and working dogs in action in this picturesque garden and lawn. [I can't locate where I save my working dogs in action video. Dang!]

#9: Again, another of my first time experience seeing sheep sheering. Mehhh...

#10: Spotted highland cattles outside Churchill Island. Just when I thought these so called Scottish cow can only be found and seen in Scotland, I was totally wrong. 

#11: Spotted another pressed pennies again! #travelcollection

#12: We even stopby at Phillip Island Chocolate Factory shop for some tasting and chocolate purchases. All the penguins as photo above were actually made from chocolate.

#13: Another visit of surf beach, Cape Woolamai. Most Australia beaches I visited were so clean.

#14: DT in Melbourne, like finally!

#15: Before going to the last pit-stop of the day, we stopby at Nobbies & Seal Rocks - home to Australia's largest Australian Fur Seal colony. However, we spotted more on silver gulls than the seals.

#16: Finally, the main highlight of this trip - Penguin Parade.

Located in Summerland Beach, this is where you can see a hundred or even up to thousands colony of little penguins return to shore before the dark swallows the sky. In the beginning, our eyes were trying hard to spot whether there's something appear out from sea but slowly, we saw a huge raft of these cute little penguins appeared on the right, then another raft on the left and by the end of the day, the exact amount of this pair of wobbly feet was more than 7,000. Some might felt it was pretty boring as it required a little bit of patience but I can say it was one of the beautiful and amazing things I had seen in my life. I really wish I could took a video of them but unfortunately, photos and video are strictly prohibited cause penguins' eyes are too sensitive to flashlight. And another amazing thing I encountered was before we leave this place, we can actually touch them if they happened to walk under the boardwalk.

Source 

Options

• Penguin Plus - Exclusive viewing area and private boardwalk (AUD14)
• Penguin Skybox - Elevated indoor viewing box with drinks and canapes and access to Penguin Plus (AUD$35)
• Private Penguin Parade Experience - Enjoy front row viewing on the sand and access to Penguins Plus with a small group and private ranger guide (AUD$44)

Although this tour was a bit pricey (after the conversation) but I have no regret after end of this tour. Not really a hardcore animal lover but lately I just love to visit any zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums (Just read my blogpost on Watching Moving Creatures It's Fun Sometimes) . And in Australia itself, this is where one can experience and discover the diversity and abundance of native wildlife in the wilderness area.

Note: The cost for this tour was AUD$125 which included all park entrance fees, morning tea & biscuits and also pre-packed dinner at Penguin Parade. It even included pick-up and drop-off from where I stayed. 

This tour package I booked from Bunyip Tours.
You can book online at their website www.bunyitours.com or go to their office:
Bunyip Tours
570 Flinders Street,
Melbourne Victoria,
Australia 3000