The cutest little penguins you ever did see!

And with a title like that you are going to be expecting penguin pictures and yet I don't even have any to share because with up to 3000 visitors a day they don't allow any photography in an effort to preserve the penguins' eyesight.  You'll have to rely on my lovely storytelling and create a mental image of your own...and I'll probably cheat and pull some pictures off the web to share as well!

But, before I get ahead of myself, the penguins were the grand finale to end my day on Phillip Island so I'll get back to them in a minute.  First, we made a stop at the Moonlit Animal Sanctuary where I was first in line to have my picture taken with a Koala (certainly didn't waste any time checking that off my list considering I had been in the country for a whole 3 days).  Many people want to hold them, myself included, however in keeping the Koala's best interests in mind you are only allowed to "cuddle" them, not actually hold them.  In fact, the only state in all of Australia where it isn't illegal to hold one is in Queensland.  That is north of where I am.  You can see on the map below - I am outside of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.

Torquay is about twenty minutes from Geelong (to the left of Melbourne).  And you can see Phillip Island on here too.

 

Anyways so I was first in line for my own personal photo shoot with the Koala and I ran into some other friendly critters during my walk through the animal park!

 

So long as you don't touch his eucalyptus leaves he's a happy camper!

Get closer and "cuddle" with him they told me...

Lazy kangaroo trying to decide whether or not to get up for some grub...

I convinced him!

The wallabies attack! Literally...they swarm you and they are greedy and will fight one another to get the food out of your hands.  And watch out for their nails, they are quite sharp!

 

 

Tasmanian Devil...I don't actually know how friendly he would have been, he was in an enclosed area.

 

After the animal sanctuary and a quick lunch we continued onward.  I got my first sight of the beach here in Australia - Woolamai Beach and visited Churchill Island (off of Phillip Island and much smaller) to watch a sheep sheering and whip cracking demonstration.  It was interesting as were the people, I don't think some of them had ever seen a sheep before!  The Koala Conservation Centre was next along the way where rather than having one pose with you in a picture you get to see them in a much more natural setting.  Due to deforestation, koala numbers have dropped drastically from what they once were and the Koala Conservation Centre houses most of the remaining koalas left on Phillip Island.  The last stop we made before heading to the World Famous Penguin Parade was at a place called "the nobbies."  The tour guide kept speaking of the nobbies as though they were seals, which really had me confused.  I thought that was quite a strange word for seals but it turns out "the nobbies" are the rocks that come out of the water where you can find the seals.  You will see in them in the pictures but you can't actually see the seals due to distance so enjoy the pictures of "the nobbies!"

 

Woolamai Beach

Churchill Island

At the Koala Conservation Centre

"The Nobbies"

 

And finally the grand finale! The Penguin Parade! So, Phillip Island is apparently the only place in the world where you can sit and enjoy these cute little critters waddling ashore.  They are the smallest species of penguin, a little larger than the size of a guinea pig.  They come in at dark each evening to nest for the night and leave before daylight each morning to avoid the daylight when they are most likely to be snatched up by predators.  The Penguin Parade area can hold up to 3000 spectators but thankfully there weren't nearly that many people there when I visited.  They have a "Countdown to the Penguins" clock in the visitor's center letting you know when to be making your way down to the stands on the beach for the arrival of hundreds of these little guys.  They come in in "rafts" or large groups together as a security measure and if one of them washes ashore without the comfort of fellow penguins he or she will waddle as fast as they can back to the safety of the water.  The first group I saw was about 10-20 penguins and they all rode the waves until their group became closer to 40 or 50 penguins. Then they would wash ashore, huddle together, seemingly try to determine whether to make a run for it or to dive back into the water, and then most of the time would decide to dive back into the water.  They would repeat this routine about 10 times before finally making a run for the grassy area and making their way back to their nests.  It was the coolest thing to watch, maybe because I got such a laugh out of watching these tiny little penguins trying to run!  Hundreds of them come in every night and after watching a few groups come out of the water, I made my way back along the boardwalk to the visitor's center walking along side the many that had already made the daring dart across the beach to safety.  It's amazing how each of them remembers their specific burrow each and every day.  Since I wasn't allowed to take photos, here are some from the Phillip Island website so you have a better idea of what I am talking about!

 

 

Little Penguins also sometimes called Fairy Penguins

The stands for the Penguin Parade.  They come out of the water and go right in between the two sections of seating!

 

 

More on my first days as an Au Pair soon! :)