Australia, NZ + Tahiti

My cousin Eric and his wife Teri planned an incredible day for us. To start, they took us out to wine country. We had an absolutely spectacular lunch at a small vineyard called Mont Rouge Estate. (Of course, we had a wine tasting as well.)

From there, we took the drive down to Phillip Island and stopped at Paul Jetty and the Nobbies on the way. Visiting Phillip Island was at the absolute top of my list for this trip. The island is home to the biggest colony of little penguins, the smallest penguins in the world. They are merely three pounds and a foot tall, and blue colored, unlike other penguins which are black. The little penguins are in the water, and at sunset they watch closely to ensure that predators are not around and then form a group called a raft, emerging from the ocean to make the mad dash across the sand to their boroughs. It’s called the penguin parade and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever experienced in our lives.

Eric had booked tickets for us to have a Ranger guided walk as well as front row seating at a viewing area. As you can imagine, I was in heaven! Once the penguins begin to come in across the beach, there are elevated walkways so that you can actually follow their progress to finding their burrows. Each night, there is a count done to determine how many emerged from the ocean. Last night’s count was 642.

The only downside? There is no videography or photography permitted, which we respect. Photos and videos are provided for download however, as well as taxidermied penguins in order for visitors to be able to appreciate their feathers and tiny size. You can watch the parade here:

https://www.penguins.org.au/assets/Penguin-Para…Læs mere