One Year to Give: For "Rev Heads" and "Fairy" Lovers

Phillip Island, 15th February

After 'squeezing' in a bit of schoolwork in the morning we packed up and went to Phillip Island for the afternoon. We had good advice from Mary (who we met on the ferry), and the experiences they have had on their travels - there is so much you can see and do, and you will still not see it all, so try and do things that are iconic to the place/area/region. Hence, we gave the 'mazes and illusions' a miss this time and focussed on the Grand Prix track and Fairy penguins (now known as 'Little' Penguins).

After a quick detour into the chocolate factory... we headed out to the Phillip Island Circuit, and seen as we'd heard fast, loud, bike noises as we alighted from the car, we thought we'd pay a little 'extra' to go to the viewing platform. "Wow, even from one who isn't a "rev-head" it was very exciting and entertaining to see fast, loud bikes going through their paces, in practice laps. (My videoing skills are not good, and my movie making skills less-so. However, I will have to work on the video and see if I can figure out how to post it on the blog.)

If you look hard you will be able to see a motor bike, or two. I did well to get it in the photo, considering how fast they were travelling!

The Winners!!

Some 'famous person's' bike! Who's?? - Search me!

This photo was taken for my sister Robyn - her little old silver Torana (four door tho' and not quite as 'tickled up'), toured us around Perth and southern WA some 23 years ago! And it probably sounded as loud as this one, as it had a hole inthe exhaust! Fond memories.

The Rhyll Post Office

After this, it was a quick driving tour to the town of Rhyll ( in honour of our sister-in-law) and then on to Cowes, the main town on PI, where we sizzled a sausage on the foreshore (well, on the bbq in the park!) for a quick tea.

Penguins, here we come! People have been trooping to Phillip Island for over 70 years to see the Fairy Penguins do their nightly ritual - walk across the beach and up into the dunes, on dusk.
This particular environment is very controlled with Rangers present, photos etc prohibited, seating in a certain area and a boardwalk for accessing the area. We sat for about 1.5 hours, so we could have a good seat, chatted to the Swedish family sitting next to us, watched the waves, watched the seagulls, huddled under towells we took from the car for a bit of warmth, listened to the Ranger give a 'spiel' on the colony of little penguins and just on dusk there was a little 'splash', and a 'flop' and a lone Fairy Penguin made it's way onto the beach (after, it is estimated, 3-4 days at sea, some 15 -20kms off shore). The crowd of about 1000 (90% of them Asian) oohed and aahed and then 'awwed', as the little critter threw himself back into the sea! He was waiting for his friends! There's safety in numbers, don't you know? Especially when those Pacific Gulls are flying overhead! Finally, several more penguins arrive, and they huddle at waters edge until there is a group of a dozen or so and then it's 'waddle, waddle, waddle' up the beach, to the delighted exclamations of the crowd. (and h.hmm... cameras flashing??!!) Not mine tho'! Meanwhile, along the beach there are other groups of penguins coming home to rest too. I think there was about 250-300, according to Ranger's counts/estimations.
Nature has some truly amazing lifecycles/routines/feats. These little guys can stay at sea swimming, floating, sleeping, feeding for days, then swim the distance home in one day, only to 'flip-flop on the beach and then have to 'stagger' up a jolly sandhill to their burrows, to be joyously (noisily) reunited with their loved ones. As we walked back along the boardwalk we got our best look at trails of Little Penguins waddling home. I'd have to rest up for a few days after all that exertion if it was me - and I believe they do too, before feeling the urge to head off out to see again.
Although the experience was 'controlled', it was great to do and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.