5. Phillip Island

24 January 2024

Big day today! We arrive at the furthest point of our journey, Phillip Island. A special island close to Melbourne, very famous in the whole country/continent for its little visitors: the Little Penguins, which appear every night on land to feed their chicks.

Swan Lake

Its early afternoon, and we start with a visit of the Swan Lake. Here we spot many waterbirds: Cape Barren Geese, Black Swans, and Yellow Billed Spoonbill, ....

The Nobbies

Beautiful boardwalk along the seal rocks and blowhole at the outer point of Phillips Island.

Afterwards we have an early cosy spaghetti dinner in the campervan, preparing for a long night... !

The Penguin Parade

We are well ahead of time to get a seat, and then one more hour waiting on the beach. After sunset the smallest penguin in the world, makes its appearance on the beach in big numbers, around thousand per night.

The Little Penguins leave the safe waters of the sea, and makes a risky crossing over the beach, waddling all the way back to their burrows, where hungry chicks are waiting for their parents.

The Little penguin spends 80% of his live in the water where it eats and sleeps and is best protected thanks to its camouflaging colour. They only come on land to nest, raise the chicks and moult.

Every autumn when its time to moult they have to stuff themselves with food till their weight is doubled. Once on land it takes around 17 days (during which they can't return to sea for food) to remove their old feathers and grow a new warm waterproof winter coat with 10,000 new feathers.