So after we had visited the farm, we headed to our next stop which was the Koala Sanctuary. You were able to walk around and see koalas in their natural habitat. Josh and I took the long path around the park. We saw a lot of wallaby’s around us. We saw six or so koalas in trees sleeping. We found out they sleep somewhere around 20 hours a day. I would have to say this way the least impressive part of our tour. Our guide then took us around the island and we were able to see some spectacular coastline views of Phillip Island. After that, we headed for what is called the penguin walk. There is a species of penguin called the Little Penguins. They are small penguins with a bluish coloring. They come up out of the ocean at dusk to the beach and then waddle overland to their burrows. There are rows of seats set up at beach so you can see them come up out of the water. There are boardwalks you can stand on and watch the Little Penguins walk across land to their burrows. One of the rules the rangers reminded us of several times was that no photography was allowed. The flash scares the penguins. Literally seconds after the words were out of their mouths, I saw a bright flash behind me. The ranger came over to again remind that group that photos were not allowed.
We waited eagerly and finally the penguins started to come out of the water. We watched several groups come up and then went to the boardwalk to watch them walk on the land. Josh staked out a great spot right over a ditch and we waited. Our patience was rewarded as we saw multiple groups come right under us and go into burrows. People still ignored the rangers request not to take pictures. They had to threaten to take one man’s camera away from him. Josh finally went to the visitor center to get something to eat. I stayed and watched a few more penguins go by. I then started walking up the visitor center. ON the path to my left, I saw many more of the Little Penguins walking to their burrows. We gathered together and got on our bus and left (after our guide looked underneath for any stray penguins). It was about an hour and half trip. We stopped at what I would call a rest stop back home. It had a McDonalds in it, but I didn’t get anything. We finally got back close to ten to our hotel and went to sleep.
We got up for our last full day in Melbourne. We ran a few miles on the treadmill at our hotel and then headed out for breakfast. I had read good reviews about a place called the Pancake Parlor. We walked to the shopping center where it was supposed to be. It took a bit of searching and we finally found it. They offered pancakes with ice cream on them, so Josh ordered that. I couldn’t bring myself to order pancakes with ice cream for breakfast (despite Josh chiding me saying that I might as well be at the IHOP). My pancakes were excellent. We left and headed out for the aquarium. We got there and found we had a fatal error. It was a Saturday and not only that, it was a three day weekend (the Monday was the Queen’s Birthday). So, there were a lot of parents with kids especially kids in strollers. We finally managed to get around a large group of these. There were some very neat exhibits there. You could go through a huge glass tube and watch large manta rays glide right over you. We finally got to a crocodile that was monstrous; it was fully 15 feet long and quite imposing. We finally reached the penguin exhibit. They had a large exhibit of the penguins I am more used to seeing. It was funny to watch them move around. A woman was trying to feed one fish. It was funny to watch one penguin in particular nip her on the arm, legs and even rear end trying to get a fish. You could also watch the penguins swim. I did not realize how fast they can dart around in the water. The aquarium had some neat exhibits, but I don’t know that it was worth what we paid for it (35 American each).
Afterwards, we walked to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar so I could get another 80s milkshake and Josh could get one as well since he missed getting one with me a couple of nights earlier. He pronounced the milkshake excellent just as I had. We walked back to our hotel to rest a bit before heading out for our afternoon and evening activities. In my next post, I’ll let you know how sports fans are in Australia and how they compare to Americans.
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