Had a fantastic few days in Melbourne. Stayed in St Kilda, a small seaside town, really lovely place much like Portobello in Edinburgh and our hostel was just round the corner from the beach.
Great bars and restaurants (especially the “cake street”) and little boutique shops. We spent most of our first few days chilling out on the beach and shopping.
Great bars and restaurants (especially the “cake street”) and little boutique shops. We spent most of our first few days chilling out on the beach and shopping.
Had mostly beautiful hot weather the whole time we’ve been here...apart from the morning of Arran’s birthday when we woke up to torrential rain! Luckily the rain went off before we departed on our animal expedition. First stop was a small Kangaroo ranch just outside of Melbourne where we spent ages feeding kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. Really nice little ranch and it was amazing being able to pat the tame Kangas!
After a quick bbq at the ranch (we had Kangaroo sausages, sorry guys) we headed over to check out some sleepy koala bears in a sanctuary just up the road. Apparently Koala meat is one of the only meats Aussies don’t eat as its poisonous (they also eat crocodile and camel).
We stopped off for dinner in a small coastal town on Phillip Island called Cowes, before our final (and best) stop – the dusk Penguin Parade.
Part of Phillip Island is a protected conservation site for the penguins as every night at dusk, they waddle out of the sea across the beach, up to their dens to feed their babies. The National Park now protects the area and monitors the penguins, but people are allowed to come down and view the dusk parade within a restricted area. You're not allowed to take photos though, as the flashing lights and clicks disorientate the little penguins. We had a VIP pass to the parade which meant we had an exclusive front row seat on the beach, with a headset to listen to our very own park ranger commentary (it was like something out of a David Attenburgh documentary!). It was fantastic to see the penguins pop up out of the sea and wait for patiently for the rest of their pack to walk across the beach with. It was a lovely night too and great being able to watch all this, by moonlight.
Last day in Melbourne today, so we are going to spend it in the city centre before our overnight train to Sydney this evening.
Part of Phillip Island is a protected conservation site for the penguins as every night at dusk, they waddle out of the sea across the beach, up to their dens to feed their babies. The National Park now protects the area and monitors the penguins, but people are allowed to come down and view the dusk parade within a restricted area. You're not allowed to take photos though, as the flashing lights and clicks disorientate the little penguins. We had a VIP pass to the parade which meant we had an exclusive front row seat on the beach, with a headset to listen to our very own park ranger commentary (it was like something out of a David Attenburgh documentary!). It was fantastic to see the penguins pop up out of the sea and wait for patiently for the rest of their pack to walk across the beach with. It was a lovely night too and great being able to watch all this, by moonlight.
Last day in Melbourne today, so we are going to spend it in the city centre before our overnight train to Sydney this evening.
