Melbourne 2016 Day 3: Phillip Island

DAY 3: 2 DEC 2016

Another day of fun today!

We booked a Phillip Island day tour with Sightseeing Tours Australia yet again,

which costs S$104 per pax.

The tour only starts at 12pm so we decided to have brunch at Manchester Press.

There is a huge cafe scene in Melbourne, and you can spot lots of coffee places and cafes

everywhere in Melbourne.

There are famous ones like Top Paddock, Brother Baba Budan and Kettle Black,

but I didn't have the time to visit them.

Shall save them for my next visit!

Manchester Press is hidden in one of the many alleys in Melbourne. 

This cafe specialises in bagels and one of the major draws is definitely its rainbow bagels.

And so, we order a Matcha Maple with rainbow bagel (AUD$16) and

an avocado & fetta smash bagel (AUD$15).

 This was literally a heavy breakfast for us and we couldn't finish our bagels.

The rainbow bagel was only aesthetically good, while the avocado bagel was good but

it might be bland for those who love strong flavours.

After our hearty brunch, we walked to Woolworths at QV.

This supermarket is huge and it had what we needed: tidbits!

We bought lots of interesting flavoured tim tams such as the chewy caramel and toffee apple

to bring them back as gifts for friends.

The tim tams were on sale and each slab costs AUD$2.50.

We bought jars of the vegemite too!

It was kind of amusing to see the Australians cringe at the thought of vegemite.

We placed all our groceries back in our room before heading out for our day tour.

We were picked up by a new tour guide this time round and off we went!

Our official first destination was Maru Wildlife Park.

We were given an hour here and the main attraction here are the koalas and kangaroos.

We bought a tub of kangaroo feed for AUD$2 at the counter and it was

the best decision ever!

Tasmanian devil

Wallaby

 

 

 To be honest, I had the time of my life here.

Back home, we probably only got petting zoos which mean you get to pet

animals like rabbits, dogs etc.

But at wildlife parks in Australia, you get a chance to feed kangaroos and wallabies!

 I was a little scared at first so I targeted joeys.

Unfortunately, everyone else were feeling the same way as I am,

and there weren't any joeys available for feeding.

So I plucked some courage and approached the bigger ones.

The kangaroos were really smart to pick out people with the feed using their sense of smell.

They would try to hop towards you and that scared me initially.

After feeding a kangaroo for the first time, I couldn't stop feeding them...

LOVED IT!!

 

So adorable!

Makes me want to make another trip to Australia next year.

After our trip to the wildlife park, we moved on to Swan Lake for a nice stroll.

 

There were geese (spot them with their fluorescent beaks) and swans waddling in the lake.

There were two viewing sheds at the end of the boardwalk, and we spotted a wild wallaby there!

On the way back to the bus. we spotted a copperhead snake in one of the bushes.

All spotted in the wild.

Next, we visited Cape Woolamai.

Another beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs.

Cape Woolamai

We moved on The Nobbies which was located at the western tip of Phillip Island.

This place is a spot for wild penguins too and we managed to spot a few penguins

in the small wooden houses built for them!

 

  

 

 

 It was really fun spotting the penguins in their homes.

Unlike the penguin parade, we could freely take photos of the penguins here.

After spending 30 minutes at The Nobbies, we moved on to our main attraction tonight:

Penguin Parade.

Our guide took the route by the waters for a scenic route and we were able to

spot many curious wallabies amongst the bushes.

We arrived at the venue for the penguin parade shortly and there were already lots

of people seated at the gallery.

Our guide recommended us to sit on the right towards the middle near the tower

as the penguins usually march through that section.

We got our seats and the penguins started emerging from the waters at sunset!

Do ntoe that photography is not allowed even at the carpark area, because some of the penguins

venture to the carpark for warmth and to get back to their homes.

Seeing the penguins come in batches and waddling up shore was fascinating.

We spent about 20 minutes watching them come up shore before heading back to the boardwalk.

The penguin homes are all around the boardwalk and you should move off to see them up close.

There were instances where the little penguins were only a few centimeters away from me!

On our way out we spotted groups of penguins waddling next to the boardwalk,

heading in the direction of the carpark.

I just had to walk by their side because they were utterly cute!

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed the tour because of the many opportunities

to interact with wildlife.

If you do not wish to pay a visit to Phillip Island just for the penguin parade,

you can also visit St Kilda for wild penguins which I will mention in my next post!