As much as I love Melbourne, sometimes it's really nice to get away from a city with almost 5 million people and enjoy a slower pace of life. This past weekend Ross was visiting from Wellington so we decided to check out Phillip Island, which is located about 2 hours south-southeast of Melbourne.
The two main attractions of Phillip Island are the Penguin Parade and the Phillip Island Grand Prix (motorcycle racing). The Grand Prix is in October, so we didn't have to worry about crowds related to that but I know that Ross would love to go at some point. We also didn't go to the Penguin Parade because you can see the penguins come in from the sea every night, for free, along the St. Kilda Pier, which is only a 20-minute walk from my apartment. We did see some penguins at the Nobbies though, so the title of the blog isn't a total lie... ; )
We borrowed a work truck from my company and took off mid-afternoon on Friday. We stayed at a cute AirBnb in the bustling metropolis of Cowes (pop. <5,000) on the north side of Phillip Island. We didn't arrive until late afternoon so, after dropping our stuff off, we walked to the beach, saw some whale swimming in the harbor and then watched the sun set over the water and the Mornington Peninsula.
On Saturday morning we started off the day at the monthly farmers market that is held on Churchill Island. The island is located just off the northeast side of Phillip Island and is home to a heritage farm that has been farmed since the 1850's. We wandered around the grounds some and had a delicious breakfast at the farm cafe after checking out the farmers market.
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| Just some Highland Cattle hanging out in Australia |
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| Churchill Island Heritage Farm |
From Churchill Island we headed down to Cape Woolamai and spent most of the day wandering around on the various walking tracks. The whole area is gorgeous, with great surf and impressive cliffs on the south coast and calm, crystal clear water on the north coast. We had great weather and there were surprisingly few people out and about.
We then headed to the opposite side of the island (it was maybe a half hour drive) to see The Nobbies. On the way we made a quick detour to the Forrest Caves, which are actually sea caves (despite the name). Unfortunately we didn't think to look at a tide chart and the water was still too high to access the them. Next time...
At the Nobbies you get great views of the southern coast and the Mornington Peninsula. There are also large seabird colonies - Silver Gulls and Little Penguins. Not too far off the coast from the Nobbies are Seal Rocks, which are home to Australia's largest Australian Fur Seal colony. I think that both Ross and I had assumed that you would be able to see some seals from the Nobbies, but we didn't see any when we were there. We did, however, see some penguins hiding under the boardwalk and peaking out of their burrows.
On Sunday we started off at the Koala Conservation Centre in the morning. I love koalas. They are so cute; they're like little teddy bears that sleep all of the time. We must have walked every trail at the centre at least twice, looking at the koalas and birds. It's definitely worth a trip and the entry fee goes to koala research, so it's really a win-win.
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| Kookaburra |
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| Swamp wallaby |
From the Koala Centre we stopped by the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory on our way back to Melbourne. There is a factory tour but we just browsed the store and then had some delicious chocolate fondu with strawberries and marshmallows. Nothing like a healthy snack to get your Sunday afternoon off on the right foot!
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| Chocolate Penguins |
All in all, Ross and I really enjoyed Phillip Island. I think that it would probably be less enjoyable in the summer (i.e. - swarming with people) but it was a really nice winter weekend away from Melbourne. I have a three-day weekend coming up at the end of September, so I'll have to think of a fun trip to do then. Until next time!
