Looking for quick tips to plan your next trip to Australia and the wild nature of Phillip Island? Check out the top things you can not miss!
"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit" - Edward Abbey
Phillip Island is a natural paradise of incredible beauty not so far from Melbourne (don't miss to check our post about the top 10 things to to in city!).
We combined the visit of the island and the Moonlit Sanctuary wildlife conservation park taking part of a daily tour organized by Go West (https://www.gowest.com.au/), an excellent local operator which organize high quality tours for small groups .
Our day starts with a visit of the Moonlit Sanctuary wildlife conservation park (http://www.moonlitsanctuary.com.au/), less than one hour drive from Melbourne. This sanctuary hosts 30 different species of native Australian animals and offers visitors the possibility to interact with most of them in a protected environment, educating to a soustainable ecotourism.
We spend some time walking along the Wallaby Walk and we immediately get in contact with some small lovely wallabies not at all scared about us. Francesca try to feed some of them with the proper animal feed we bought in the visitr center and in a few she conquers their trust feeding them from her hands. Intrigued by this interaction, some larger kangaroos move closer and accept some food as well. We dedicate them some time, petting and feeding them and at the end we can say to have new Aussie friends.
From here we move to the Koalas area and we meet a lovely boy concentrated to eat an eucalyptus twig. Our guide explain us that, as an estimate, there are probably less than 80,000 Koalas remaining in Australia today also because much of their habitat has already been lost. For this reason sanctuaries and protected natural parks like the Moonlit are vitally important to save these species. Koalas often sleep more than 18 hours each day to conserve energies they need to digest the eucalyptus leaves, so we are really lucky to interact with it today!
Strolling around we encounter a lot of other animals like Emu, Tasmanina Devils and Dingos - hopefully in a dedicated fenced area ;-) - staying close to these animals is really touching.
After lunch our guide bring us to Phillip Island; before arriving we make a quick stop in a local farm for a wine and cheese tasting experience.
We arrive to The Nobbies. The weather is rapidly changing and some grey clouds cover the sky creating a fascinating and wild atmosphere; the unique sounds we hear are the waves and the wind. Strolling along the bordwalks we enjoy a spectacular view of these wild offshore rock formations and of Seal Rocks, home to more than 25,000 fur seals, one of the largest colonies in Australia.
It is almost sunset and it's time to move to the main attraction of the day: the Penguin Parade (https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/).
Despite the name which could remind an artifact show, this is one of the most touching experience we ever had. Every day at dunsk hundreds of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) race up Summerland Beach tumbling from the waves and heading to their burrows along the coastline. The power of the nature is really incredible.
These are the smallest of all penguin species (they stand approximiately 33cm tall) and they spend 80% of their time swimming and looking for food in the sea.
Visitors can assist to this spectacular show from the boardwalks or in amphiteatre in front of the beach; taking pictures is not allowed in order to do not disturb penguins.
After the arrival of the penguins, we remain a little bit on the boardwalks to see them closer and we finally come back to Melbourne with the hearth full of beautiful emotions.
To discover more about these places, have a look to our posts and stories dedicated to this part of Australia dated November 2018 on our Instagram page @2intour
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