Penguin Parade

(Posted two days late... internet connection poor!)

What a spectacular day this was. First I took a walk to the gorge. The walking track was really poorly marked and I took a few wrong turns, but made it to the overgrown lookout eventually. The journey was more fun than the destination with lovely wildflowers and butterflies. If I had come in another month, the blackberries would have been ready to pick!

I packed up and bade goodbye to my new friends then headed into Lakes Entrance. Only 20km away, it was extremely busy and hard to find a place to park. I didn’t stay long. I had a date to keep. My mentor Stephen Lamble and his wife Lyn were only a few short hours down the road in their caravan. I hadn’t seen Stephen since he quit uni six months ago (with health issues) and decided to travel the country, so I was convinced we had a few travel tales to share.

How lovely it was to swap stories over a cup of coffee. They had been in Western Queensland, down the middle, and now exploring Victoria. Next they were heading to Tasmania then across the Nullarbor. We reluctantly parted so I could make my way to Phillip Island to set up before dark, and make another date with the penguins.

I grew up in England in a town called Cowes, and it was like being transported back in time arriving on the island.... all the place names from the Isle of Wight had been transported with me... Cowes, Ventnor and many more!

“It is really commercial” my mother had said. “We used to just walk amongst them when we were kids” was Stephen’s reply. Both are true, yet, if you can see thorough the crowds, this attraction is world class AND it has actually saved the penguin colony here, so it is environmentally friendly too.

This evening was sold out which means about 3000 people had come to see the little penguins (or fairy penguins if you are from NZ) in action. Everyone gathered in the visitor centre – a huge mall-like structure with eateries, toilets, shops and penguin displays. I grabbed an MP3 player and headphones with a commentary and headed down the boardwalk.

As you walk well above the sand dunes, penguin burrows dot the landscape. Most of the penguins are not there until after dark though. As I walked, they were gathering in ‘rafts’ at sea and waiting for the cover of darkness to make their way ashore. At this time of year, many of them had been gorging on fish to regurgitate for their young hidden well inside their burrows.

At dusk it happened. They started wandering up the beach in formation, right past our viewing area. Now I could see why they call this a parade. These creatures are small, with dark blue feathers and waddle much as you would expect... sometimes stopping for a two-minute cat-nap until the penguin behind knocks into them.

Watching them arrive was extraordinary, but wandering back up the boardwalk and waddling alongside them way my favourite. Although they were on the other side of a barrier, they were within touching distance and it feels like taking the dog for a walk! Right at the top of the walkway, the throng of people ground to a halt as an errant penguin crossed from one side to another. Fancy – a penguin crossing!