The Penguin Parade

Cowes, Victoria, Australia
Sunday, December 22, 2013

The journey today was quite short by our standards and we arrived on Philip Island by lunchtime. We are staying in Holmwood guesthouse in Cowes. The former is superb and another to add to the list. Philip Island is tiny and you can drive round it in a couple of hours. It is pretty, with a gorgeous coastline yet again and seems to be modelled on a tiny Isle of Wight, as there is a Ventor and Rye. It is twinned with its English counterpart you may not be surprised to hear. We had a close encounter with Koalas this afternoon, but as part of a conservation project this time. That viewing in the wild will still be the highlight for me, even though we were much closer this time.
This evening we have been to the Penguin Parade. This is a natural nightly event as the Little Blue Penguins come ashore to their burrows in the dunes behind the beach. We did have our reservations about going, as it is a huge managed tourist happening and I must be honest it was a circus. The spectators gather on wooden benches arranged in an amphitheatre. Half of Asia was there and they cannot sit still, be quiet or refrain from photography, which is one of the conditions.
The first penguin waddled up the beach at 9.03pm and they just kept coming in rafts(the technical term for a group of penguins apparently!). They are tiny, about 6 ins high and it is such an effort for them to waddle up to their burrows they have to keep stopping for a snooze. The chicks rush out to greet them calling vociferously for their parents. Some of the more aggressive youngsters will attack any passing adult and get short shrift for doing so I can tell you. I wish some of the human parents were as strict with their misbehaving young ! It was an amazing phenomenon to witness and only spoiled by the bus loads of tourists who clearly have it on their itinerary, but have no clue what they are to see and are not interested either. After the first twenty penguins had hit the beach, loads of the audience just jumped to their feet and made for the exit
We did enjoy the spectacle, but our fears were somewhat justified. Think carefully before going. .Read more