A great part of living in Melbourne is having the ability to go on many road trips. Phillip Island is still in Victoria but it lies off Australia’s southern coast. Best known for its famous penguin parade, where spectators gather to watch penguins come ashore in groups. There’s so much more to this island as a whole.
Phillip Island – Nobbies
I took a day trip to Phillip Island with my Australian friends. We headed straight to the Nobbies, where the Seal Rocks are (I didn’t see a single seal). A colony of Australian fur seals live here and you can see them from the board walk, which weaves around the cliff edge. The seals were hiding from me but I still saw a newborn baby penguin, hidden away in nesting boxes. It’s a wonder how they get to these boxes from the water. There wasn’t a lack of wildlife, especially in the dinosaur birds with fluorescent yellow streaks down their boulder-like beaks.
In reality these birds are Cape Barren Geese. Unlike any goose I’ve ever seen, they’re birds huge and like to graze on the protected hills. It doesn’t matter how close you are to water in Australia, the land is sometimes surprisingly red desert underneath all the green grass.
The ash-grey Cape Barren Goose grows to 90cm and is a protected Australian bird having surpassed extinction a few decades ago. They mate for life and are always in pairs, a lone bird is a rare sighting.
Australian birds fascinate me. But so does the sea. We went on a windy, cold day. It nearly felt like home. There were blowholes in the water and the colour changes from iridescent blue to deep dark hues. All in the space of a few seconds while the waves crash against rock formations.
Life’s A Beach
Next stop was a short drive from Nobbies, towards Cowes. There was a wooden stairway down to the beach. We stepped along the rocks and discovered a few sea creatures. Small and seemingly useless, these coral sea life help the underwater world thrive. Large clusters of coral, usually as a reef, help by protecting our coasts from waves.
Phillip Island – Cowes
We got hungry after our battle with the wind and flying rampant hair. Cowes is the small town in Phillip Island with a street lined with beautiful trees and restaurants parallel to each other. Yes, it’s pronounced cow. Like Moo Moo kind of cow.
There’s another beach here and a small pier leading to a ferry. If you come this way, give the ice cream parlour a visit and try a variety of flavours.
Eventually, I get tired. That’s the thing with travelling, you always end up exceptionally tired and wanting sleep. Though I had to keep my eyes open on the trip back to see the mini bridge we drove over, surrounded by an expanse of never-ending water. We even caught a beautiful sunset; I love burnt orange and red hues but you can’t complain when the sun shines bright on you while it sets.
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