Our Phillip Island road trip

Just before Christmas we decided to jump in the car and go watch the fairy penguins at Port Phillip Island. If you haven't been I could not recommend this place enough - the rangers run a very impressive conservation program that both allows you to see the penguins up close (and the baby chicks this time of the year!!!) and protects a larger portion of the island creating an incredible predator free zone for the penguins.

The location

Phillip Island is about 1 hour 40 min drive from Melbourne. It is a fairly easy drive on an excellent highway. Although I’m not the world’s most confident driver, I had no issues driving back after sundown.

There is a bridge that takes you from San Remo across to the island. Once you are on the island there are quite a few beaches, coastal walks and attractions to visit. There is also plenty of signs directing you to the penguin parade.

I would recommend arriving mid afternoon to go on some gorgeous coastal walks and have dinner at a local pub (like we did), before the Penguin Parade at sunset.

The penguin parade

Watching the tiny penguins battle the massive ocean waves was both heart-wrenching and heartwarming - and so was seeing the baby cheeks get excited about their parent's return.

The conservation program is exceptionally well managed with the proceeds from entry tickets going to the animals. If you are visiting in high season it is recommended that you purchase the tickets before as it is prone to selling out.

There are no cameras allowed during the penguin parade (because the eyes of penguins are incredibly sensitive and could be damages), so we only took photos on the island beforehand.

I found that this is a wonderful and, surprisingly, a very emotional experience to be share with your loved ones.

Some afterthoughts

It feels very strange to be writing about a very wonderful in so many way experience with a heavy heart. Like most Aussies, we have spent the holidays practically glued to our devices watching the news from the bushfire hit regions.

Me and my partner had an argument last week - is it irresponsible to go "frolicking" around the Victorian landscape while the country burns? And if so, if you do want to support the small towns relying on tourism at this time of the year, how do you do this responsibly? And, most importantly, safely?

There is one thing that we agree on - going on a summer road trip is not the same anymore. It is now a matter of careful research assessing the fire danger at the place that you are heading to. The careless Australian lifestyle is not so careless anymore. The wonders of this land would never cease to amaze me and are still worth discovering.