Flowers, Wineries and Fairy Penguins

Mount Martha

It is pouring rain when we wake up. Belinda, Andy, John and I pile Into the car and head first to a town called Mount Martha on the outskirts of Melbourne by the coast (Port Phillip Bay).

Fortunately the rain stops.

We stop in at Belinda’s mother, Barbara’s house.Her home is an idyllic window lined house surrounded by beautiful gardens. It is like a paradise. We feed the local rainbow lorikeets.

Besides being an avid gardener, Barbara is an accomplished crafter: quilting, embroidery, needlepoint , knitting and spinning. All things I love.

Yabba Lake Winery

After tea, we head into wine country and stop at Yabby Lake Winery. We are greeted with an amusing piece of artwork called ” More F?!??!ing  Cows”. Tastings are very generous with six different samples given. Yum.

Phillip Island

Continuing on we head to the conservation area of Philip Island  which consists of gorgeous beaches, national parks, Koala Conservation Centre, hike and bike trails and little towns and most exciting of all, it’s the location of the Penguin Parade.

We stop for supper in the waterfront town of Cowes.

It’s very windy and very cool, with spots of rain and sunny periods. The coastline waters are wild which makes for dramatic views. Photography is challenging because you are fighting the winds which just about blow you off your feet.

As a matter of fact we later hear that two people drowned in the rough waters today.

We then head to Nobbies Trail. Many Cape Barren Geese are hanging out on the grassy landscape. There are also lots of wallabies jumping around. They are all over the place. I even see two of them fighting. Click here for a short video.

Penguin Parade

Now it is time to go to claim our seats at the Penguin Parade.

We purchased out tickets weeks ago.

This beach is a nesting habitat for the world’s biggest colony of the world’s smallest penguin –  the fairy penguin. These penguins are blue and white instead of black and white. Every night in order to escape predators such as hawks, they wait until after dark to come to shore and return to their burrows. For protection, they come ashore in groups of twenty or thirty called rafts. Tonight it is estimated that over 1583 penguins are expected to arrive starting at 7:50pm.

Because of the cold and windy weather, it is not as crowded as usual with human visitors. We have front row seats. We still have about an hour to wait and I am very thankful that Belinda had the foresight to bring jackets and blankets.

Taking pictures of the penguins is not allowed for their safety and comfort. I am glad Belinda also brought binoculars. Penguin pictures and videos in this blog are supplied by the Penguin Parade.

In the dimness, almost exactly to the estimated minute, Andy sights the first raft of penguins. They tenuously make their way forward, then for some unknown reason retreat, hang out on the rocks for awhile before surging forward and waddling across the beach into the grassy sand dunes where they have their burrows.

Meanwhile more and more rafts of penguins are doing the same thing.

As the rafts become less frequent, more and more people leave the beach to watch the penguins settling into their burrows. Elevated boardwalks throughout the dunes provide a viewing platform to observe the penguins below.

We are almost the last to leave the beach so we have the boardwalk almost to ourselves. We see penguins hunkering down and even arguing. Although we can’t take pictures, I am able to record the penguin’s voices. Click here for the sounds.

On the way to the carpark, we spot a possom rooting around a garbage can.

We don’t get home until almost midnight.