Melbourne - Day Four

Today is reserved for Philip Island. My brother reckons we have enough time, so we drove to the Docklands precint first. Lots of spaces but not enough shops. Lunch at the food court, then off to the Shrine of Remembrance. By 2:30pm, we were on our way to the Philip Island Nature Park. More traffic on the road. Got to Philip Island around 5pm already. We were told that the penguin parade starts around 7:30pm, so we went to see The Nobbies first. Supposed to have lots of seals lounging about on the Seal Rocks, but we didn't see any. We did get to see the Nobbies Blowhole at the end of the boardwalk though. The wind is blowing hard, there are strong waves smashing into the rocks, which made the blowhole all the more spectacular.

By 6pm, we were parked at the Philip Island Nature Park. It was a very good parking spot, too. Right at the first exit. Then we noticed that our car is very low on fuel. I know there's a petrol station a few kilometers down the road. Instead of waiting till the end of the penguin parade, might as well top up now. We were gone for only about half an hour. By the time we came back, all the parking lots were full, and we had to park in an open grassy lot with hundreds of other cars. Worse, we got to the stands late. Fortunately, a group moved away, and gave us their seats.

Took a while for the little penguins to come wading in. Those guys were really small and hard to spot amidst the rocks and the pigeons standing around. As more and more penguins filed in, even my parents were able to see them. On our way back to the Visitor Centre, you can see the little penguins wandering about, calling out, and looking for their little holes. Worth the long wait, the cold winds, and the entrance fee.