The second half of our adventures down under took us to Melbourne. We took two day tours outside the city to see the coast and experience some wildlife. It was actually our first time ever taking guided tours like that, which made it that much more interesting. It was wonderful to be able to relax and take in the views as we drove along the coastline on the bus, without having to worry about driving ourselves in an unfamiliar, highly populated area—on the wrong side of the road! But at the same time, being on someone else’s timetable took a bit of adjusting. There were several locations where I could have stayed put and just soaked it in for way longer than the time allotted. I suppose we never would have felt we had enough time no matter what!
Day 1: Great Ocean Road Tour to the Twelve Apostles
We took a bus first thing in the morning headed out to the famous Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks created by erosion from the wind and waves on the southern coast of Australia. They are truly a sight to behold. In fact, the whole drive along the Great Ocean Road offered some of the best ocean views I have ever seen. The precipitous cliffs meeting up with the orange sand and crashing waves of blue; I’ve never seen anything else like it.
Along the way, we stopped at an area where we could see wild koalas hiding in eucalyptus trees and feed wild parrots. The parrots knew they could get a meal here, and had no fear about landing on heads and shoulders and hands in order to feed on the birdseed you could buy at the store nearby. I don’t know what it is about having a wild bird land on you, but it is such a cool feeling. Like they are bestowing you a privilege.
Day 2: Phillip Island + Penguin Parade
Our second day in Melbourne was focused on seeing much of the natural wildlife in Australia. Since Australian wildlife is so unique from the rest of the world, I knew I had to experience as much of it as I could in a short visit. We took another tour bus headed to the nearby Phillip Island (where, fun fact, the Hemsworth brothers are from!) where celebrating Australian wildlife is abundant. We stopped at the Maru Koala and Animal Park to see animals like koalas, komodo dragons, emus, kangaroos, and wallabies up close. We bought some food to give to the kangaroos and wallabies and lure them into taking selfies with us. I have to admit—as silly as it is, this was a bucket list thing of mine. But I was a bit disappointed to see that many of these animals were likely way overfed, and pretty lethargic in the hot midday sun. I know this park does a lot to promote wildlife conservation, and takes good care of their animals, but I felt a bit sad that there wasn’t more control over how much food people were allowed to buy and give to the animals. Lots of kids were running around shoving food in the animals’ faces—not something I’d like to take part of again.
The real destination of this excursion, though, was way better than I could have ever expected, in every way. The Phillip Island Penguin Parade is a nightly event, where you can gather in stands on the beach to watch the daily migration of penguins from the ocean up the beach to the safety of the sand dunes. It starts small. From a distance, you can observe little penguin specks running up the beach in groups of 10-20. They’ll run out of the water in these small groups, often running back to the water a handful of times before all making their way up the hill. After a while, these groups of penguins reach the level of the stands and boardwalk above. They surround you with their soft coos and waddle right up against the walkways where you stand. The night we went there were an estimated 1500 penguins that traveled from the water to the sand dunes. They were everywhere.
These penguins, the smallest in the world, are endangered and heavily protected in Australia. They enter the ocean during the day to hunt, and then seek protection from predators on the beaches at night. The roads around the beaches they frequent are closed at sunset, so that there is no risk of any penguins being hit by cars. They have little boxes set among the sand dunes to offer them protection from predators. And photography is not allowed at this event, because if anyone even accidentally lets their camera use flash, the penguins can be scared back into the ocean, where they can be hunted overnight.
Even though I have no real photographic proof of this night, it will always remain in my memory as one of the coolest things I have ever done. And no photos could do it all justice, anyway.
Day 3: Wander Melbourne & Eureka Skydeck
We dedicated our final day staying in Melbourne to experiencing the city. Our Airbnb had us staying in Southbank, Victoria, which is apparently a bustling part of town with a hopping night life. We walked across the Yarra River to grab coffee and breakfast around Flinders Street Station before wandering the streets to appreciate the expansive street art. Some of the murals painted up the walls of these alleyways were just stunning—and enormous. It was better than walking through a museum. These little alleys were probably my favorite part of Melbourne, not only for the street art but also because they reminded me of little streets in Europe.
With that checked off our list, we allowed ourselves to get a little bit lost. We ended the day at the Eureka Skydeck, with 360 degree views of Melbourne at 297 meters high (or 974 feet.)
Melbourne reminded me a bit of Seattle. Hip and grungy street life, fantastic coffee, beautiful views of the city buildings over the water, even a large Ferris wheel in the mix. But, the highlights of the trip were certainly from our day trips from the city, and I’m so glad we took the time to get out and explore the area.
Highlights: Penguin Parade, feeding wild parrots, & the Twelve Apostles. Oh, and the coffee. (Duke’s Coffee Roasters was amazing.)
While you’re here, check out these other travel posts:
2015 Europe Trip: Scenes from Prague
PNW Adventures: Oregon Coast Road Trip
PNW Adventures: Victoria, British Columbia
PNW Adventures: Vancouver, British Columbia
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The second half of our adventures down under took us to Melbourne. We took two day tours outside the city to see the coast and experience some wildlife. It was actually our first time ever taking guided tours like that, which made it that much more interesting. It was wonderful to be able to relax and take in the views as we drove along the coastline on the bus, without having to worry about driving ourselves in an unfamiliar, highly populated area—on the wrong side of the road! But at the same time, being on someone else’s timetable took a bit of adjusting. There were several locations where I could have stayed put and just soaked it in for way longer than the time allotted. I suppose we never would have felt we had enough time no matter what!
Day 1: Great Ocean Road Tour to the Twelve Apostles
We took a bus first thing in the morning headed out to the famous Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks created by erosion from the wind and waves on the southern coast of Australia. They are truly a sight to behold. In fact, the whole drive along the Great Ocean Road offered some of the best ocean views I have ever seen. The precipitous cliffs meeting up with the orange sand and crashing waves of blue; I’ve never seen anything else like it.
Along the way, we stopped at an area where we could see wild koalas hiding in eucalyptus trees and feed wild parrots. The parrots knew they could get a meal here, and had no fear about landing on heads and shoulders and hands in order to feed on the birdseed you could buy at the store nearby. I don’t know what it is about having a wild bird land on you, but it is such a cool feeling. Like they are bestowing you a privilege.
Day 2: Phillip Island + Penguin Parade
Our second day in Melbourne was focused on seeing much of the natural wildlife in Australia. Since Australian wildlife is so unique from the rest of the world, I knew I had to experience as much of it as I could in a short visit. We took another tour bus headed to the nearby Phillip Island (where, fun fact, the Hemsworth brothers are from!) where celebrating Australian wildlife is abundant. We stopped at the Maru Koala and Animal Park to see animals like koalas, komodo dragons, emus, kangaroos, and wallabies up close. We bought some food to give to the kangaroos and wallabies and lure them into taking selfies with us. I have to admit—as silly as it is, this was a bucket list thing of mine. But I was a bit disappointed to see that many of these animals were likely way overfed, and pretty lethargic in the hot midday sun. I know this park does a lot to promote wildlife conservation, and takes good care of their animals, but I felt a bit sad that there wasn’t more control over how much food people were allowed to buy and give to the animals. Lots of kids were running around shoving food in the animals’ faces—not something I’d like to take part of again.
The real destination of this excursion, though, was way better than I could have ever expected, in every way. The Phillip Island Penguin Parade is a nightly event, where you can gather in stands on the beach to watch the daily migration of penguins from the ocean up the beach to the safety of the sand dunes. It starts small. From a distance, you can observe little penguin specks running up the beach in groups of 10-20. They’ll run out of the water in these small groups, often running back to the water a handful of times before all making their way up the hill. After a while, these groups of penguins reach the level of the stands and boardwalk above. They surround you with their soft coos and waddle right up against the walkways where you stand. The night we went there were an estimated 1500 penguins that traveled from the water to the sand dunes. They were everywhere.
These penguins, the smallest in the world, are endangered and heavily protected in Australia. They enter the ocean during the day to hunt, and then seek protection from predators on the beaches at night. The roads around the beaches they frequent are closed at sunset, so that there is no risk of any penguins being hit by cars. They have little boxes set among the sand dunes to offer them protection from predators. And photography is not allowed at this event, because if anyone even accidentally lets their camera use flash, the penguins can be scared back into the ocean, where they can be hunted overnight.
Even though I have no real photographic proof of this night, it will always remain in my memory as one of the coolest things I have ever done. And no photos could do it all justice, anyway.
Day 3: Wander Melbourne & Eureka Skydeck
We dedicated our final day staying in Melbourne to experiencing the city. Our Airbnb had us staying in Southbank, Victoria, which is apparently a bustling part of town with a hopping night life. We walked across the Yarra River to grab coffee and breakfast around Flinders Street Station before wandering the streets to appreciate the expansive street art. Some of the murals painted up the walls of these alleyways were just stunning—and enormous. It was better than walking through a museum. These little alleys were probably my favorite part of Melbourne, not only for the street art but also because they reminded me of little streets in Europe.
With that checked off our list, we allowed ourselves to get a little bit lost. We ended the day at the Eureka Skydeck, with 360 degree views of Melbourne at 297 meters high (or 974 feet.)
Melbourne reminded me a bit of Seattle. Hip and grungy street life, fantastic coffee, beautiful views of the city buildings over the water, even a large Ferris wheel in the mix. But, the highlights of the trip were certainly from our day trips from the city, and I’m so glad we took the time to get out and explore the area.
Highlights: Penguin Parade, feeding wild parrots, & the Twelve Apostles. Oh, and the coffee. (Duke’s Coffee Roasters was amazing.)
While you’re here, check out these other travel posts:
2015 Europe Trip: Scenes from Prague
PNW Adventures: Oregon Coast Road Trip
PNW Adventures: Victoria, British Columbia
PNW Adventures: Vancouver, British Columbia