Melbourne is a beautiful city with tallest of the skyscrapers and breathtaking suburbs. I stayed at a cousin’s place in one of the suburbs. The first place I visited was Phillip Island which is around 2 hours away from Melbourne city. I took the Greyhound bus service to reach there. It provided a satisfactory service for the money it took.
When I reached the island, I could see peacocks roaming in their natural habitat. Many other farm animals and birds such as turkeys, wallabies, ostriches and sheep can be seen roaming too. Rearing of the sheep is also displayed there which lets you witness how the wool is actually extracted from a sheep. There is a beautiful little restaurant there where live music is played. Having a cup of coffee there, admiring the calm sea, observing the free animals roaming around and enjoying the live music leaves you in a state of awe.
The Koala Conservation Centre was the next thing which I visited. Koalas were seen as little fat creatures sleeping, sticking to the eucalyptus trees. A guide there told me that they just wake up for couple of hours a day, have some eucalyptus leaves and then doze off for the rest of the day. Some lazy asses indeed. In the conservation center, we walk through the eucalyptus tree forest and koalas are to be spotted. It was really fun to spot the koalas there as some of them sleep at the top of the tall trees and are difficult to spot.
Then I headed for a viewpoint, which is located at a point which is said to be the last point in mainland Australia. The roads of the Phillip Island is very smooth.
At a stretch in Phillip Island, one side of the roads has tall yellowish grass and the wild wallabies and kangaroos can be spotted there. They can be seen crossing the roads at random intervals too. It is Mother Nature at its best. On the other side of the road is the pristine Pacific Ocean. I reached the viewpoint and was awestruck at the view. The view had the deep blue Pacific Ocean untouched by humans, the wind was very cold and had such a high celerity that it might be difficult to keep your eyes open. The white foams from the waves hitting the rocks made the view more runic. A surfeit of seagulls can be found there.
They can also be fed in case anybody wants to feed them. A storied motor circuit is located at a few minutes distance from this point. Various public events of bike racing takes place here.
Then I went to the place where an out of the world event takes place. The Phillip Island is most famous for this event. It is called the Penguin Parade. A certain time is estimated for the penguins to arrive at the island every day after sunset. It is a world famous event which people from all around the world come to see. The bus dropped me off at the penguin parade place. The sunset had already occurred. I was seated in the seats full of anxiety and curiosity, from where the event has to be witnessed.
After sometime, some cute little penguins emerge from the water, walks in a straight line one after the other in a strictly disciplined manner. Everybody had a hint of astonishment and joy on their faces on seeing the graceful penguins. The penguins continued up the shore of the island. There is a separate path at the side of the main road made for them. They come up from the shore, walk on their allocated line one after the other, as in a parade to go to their burrows.
People can have a very close look at the penguins but flash photography is prohibited there. The penguin parade is a must to include in any Australian travel itinerary.
