A Day Trip to Phillip Island

My friends and I went on a day trip to Phillip Island from Melbourne, an hour and 45 minutes south of the city. The main reason we went to Phillip Island was to see the penguin parade at Summerland Beach -- a natural wonder in which thousands of Little Penguins (yes, that's actually their name) emerge from the sea after a day of fishing and walk to their nests at the same time every evening. It is forbidden to take pictures of the penguins because they come out at night, and the flash would scare them from returning to their nests.

Witnessing the penguin parade was truly the most amazing natural wonder I've ever experienced. Thousands of Little Penguins took over the entire beach as they walked to their nests in unison, some of them tripping over each other -- it was so adorable! Before the penguin parade, we made a few stops along the way in Phillip Island that made for an exciting and peaceful day.

Maru Koala & Animal Park

In Victoria, it's actually illegal to hold koalas. I ended up seeing koalas in their natural habitat in other parts of Victoria, which to me was way more exciting than the prospect of holding a koala. However, we did get to pet, feed and take selfies with kangaroos at the Maru Koala & Animal Park, which was so much fun!! The kangaroos were really gentle and didn't mind being pet, even the really large males.

The Nobbies

We visited a stunning overlook called The Nobbies where there were Australian fur seals bathing out on the rocks, and gorgeous rolling hills along the water.

The Penguin Parade

Like I said above, we don't want to scare the penguins with camera flashes... but I did photograph wallabies at Summerland Beach!