Phillip Island

At the start of the mid-sem break in Semester 2, I went on a day trip with college to Phillip Island. It lies just off Australia's southern coast. Whilst it is well known for the Phillip Island Circuit (motorcycle and car racing), we explored the wildlife and nature that the island has to offer. Being only 90 minutes away from Melbourne by car (or a 50 person coach in our case!), Phillip Island is definitely a place which you can cover in a day. This blog will cover the highlights of our trip, and hopefully help you in planning your visit to Phillip Island!

Caldermeade Farm

Established in 1875, Caldermeade Farm is in Gippsland, Victoria, and was the first stop along the way. It is a family friendly place with a café, market to buy their produce, tours and of course the animal nursery! I think we were all most interested in the latter, with highland cows, alpacas, goats, deer and chickens to see (and pet!). If you're going to Phillip Island from Melbourne, Caldermeade Farm could be a good place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

Lunch at the Wild Food Farm

We then made our way over the bridge onto the island itself at around lunchtime. Hence next on the itinerary was getting some food, at the Wild Food Farm. They had a great space to eat and relax with a rainforest atrium, which is where we had lunch. All dietary options can be catered for, with the vegan option being a vegetable curry, poppadom and chutneys. The rainforest at the Wild Food Farm is an indoor garden with tall tree ferns, a stream and rock pool. It's perfect to hosting large groups and worked well for our day trip

Phillip Island Wildlife Park

If you haven't seen any Aussie wildlife, now's your chance! Phillip Island Wildlife Park is set on 60 acres of land, with over 100 different species of Australian animals. You can feed a few of them, such as the kangaroos, wallabies and emus. I'd say you don't need more than a couple of hours here at the wildlife park, before moving on to the next stop.

The Nobbies

Our penultimate stop on the island was at the Nobbies, a site on Phillip Island that is incredibly important for Fur Seals. Whilst we didn't see any seals on the day we went, the boardwalk around the Nobbies allowed us to enjoy the scenery of the rugged coastline, right next to the clifftops. Phillip Island is known for being particularly windy, but we got amazing weather on the day we went :)

Penguin Parade

What we've all been waiting for, the main attraction of the day! Phillip Island is home to the largest Little Penguin colony in the world. These penguins are only about 30cm tall, and weight a couple of kilograms. In the evenings, the return from the ocean and make their way inland to their nests. The Penguin Parade allows visitors to see this 'migration' happen, whilst ensuring that the penguins are not disturbed en-route. Around sunset you take your seat looking out into the ocean, and then as the sun begins to fall you'll hopefully catch some penguins emerging from the water. The 'penguin highways' that are constructed to allow easy movement for them also give you a chance to see them up close. I'd say the Penguin Parade is worth a visit, but you only need to go once (it is very touristy).

And that pretty much covers Phillip Island in a day! For context, we left Melbourne at about 10am and got back at ~9pm, so it is possible to do in a day. Phillip Island of course has much more to offer, but I hope this blog gives you some ideas on what's there!

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