Penguins and Koalas

Sorry! There are NO penguin pictures.

The main draw to Phillip Island has long been the Little penguins. They became such an attraction that viewers were actually pushing them to extinction here on the island. By the time the locals decided to save them by saving their best habitat, they were nearly too late. Their success is born out by the fact that over 30,000 live and prosper on the island today. The reserve and the first viewing platforms were built in 1955 and the Penguin Reserve Committee began to buy back all the the development on the Summerland Peninsula, including the Nobbies, in 1985. They finally completed the process in 2010 so today the entire peninsula is controlled by what is now Phillip Island Nature Parks. Public access is closed beginning one hour before sunset each day leaving the Penguin Parade facility the only way to view these cute little birds.

Typical view of a koala

Little Penguins (also called Blue or Fairy Penguins) are unique among the species in that they only come out on land after dark. While their black backs camouflage from above when in the water and their white bellies camouflage them from below protecting them while at sea, they stand out on land during the day. They are so small at only 13-14 inches tall that they would be easy prey for large birds even including the Pacific and Kelp Gulls that also inhabit the island. So they have evolved  to spend their days in the water and return to their burrows after dark.

Even when right next to the boardwalk he sleeps

Not every penguin returns every night. They may stay out at sea for as long as a month. They may also stay in their burrows for two or three days at a time, and during their molting season, they will be on land for a little over two weeks as their feathers are incapable of protecting them from the cold sea waters. They come ashore to preen and rest, mate, and raise their chicks. The racket they raise at night leads to the anthropomorphic thought that they also come ashore to visit. Whether true or not, it is a nice idea.

One taking a break from all the sleeping

We were a bit lucky the night we chose to view the Penguin Parade as it had been sunny all afternoon so all we had to deal with weather-wise was the cold evening air. The low tide and cloudless night did mean they stayed out later until it was quite dark so we did spend a bit more time in the cold, but it was worth it. No pictures are allowed. Unfortunately, the Parks have had to resort to this because people just can’t be trusted to do the right thing and avoid flash. It had gotten so bad that some of the penguins would come ashore and then head right back out to sea. Those bringing food for their chicks often became so frightened by the flashes that they vomited their chick food up right their on the beach.

They are fun to watch as they waddle up the beach and then on to their burrows. They start and stop to rest up and even take a quick four-minute nap as they push on towards the burrow. Some of those burrows with be two miles from shore, quite a walk for these little guys who might just be heading back out the next morning before the sun comes up. They tend to arrive in waves stopping first as a group on the beach and then splitting up according to their individual destinations which will not change over their entire lives.

After about 30 minutes of watching them come out of the water over the beach, we headed back up the hill to the visitor center. Penguins follow right along beside the boardwalk and many burrows are within a couple of feet so we continued to enjoy the spectacle as we walked back to the car where we followed directions and looked under the car to be sure one of the little guys hadn’t decided to take a dangerous rest.

One of the walkways

We had chosen to spend a few more dollars to get a better view and decided that was worth it. We did not go underground to watch through a window, but our spot did see about 65% of the penguins coming ashore and offered us a very close look at those walking past. This viewing platform is call Penguins Plus when you visit the island. I would also recomment visiting the website at https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/ so see some good pictures of the little guys and read more about them.

Phillip Island Nature Parks also operates a Koala Conservation Center housing and rehabilitating koalas who are unable to live in the wild or need some retraining before they are released. They have a large acreage of land for the koalas and allow visitors to walk the trails for some up close and personal looks at these cute little animals. Since they sleep about 20 hours every day, they are easy to find in this forest, although they are often just a large ball high up in the trees. Fortunately for us, some of them also spend their days at a lower level and the boardwalks were built high enough for us to get good close up views. They tend to be nocturnal, so we would not see any activity other than a bit of movement at times as they changed position.

A wombat snuggled in for the day

Koalas spend so much time asleep because they get little energy from their food. The eucalypts they prefer don’t provide much energy to begin with and then as they age their teeth wear down making it impossible to chew with enough power to aid in digestion. Interestingly, the same thing happens to elephants although the elephant answer is to eat more rather than sleep away the day.

They only have one male koala in this park. More would lead to fighting over the females so this guy gets off easily.

On your visit to Phillip Island we recommend at least two nights so you have a full day to see both the koalas and penguins. Ideally, plan for a couple more nights so you can take advantage of the four-park pass and also see some of the other interesting things this island has to offer.

A Superb Fairywren

Galahs are not shy

We do expect to see more penguins later in New Zealand if not sooner.