Phillip Island Adventures and More

We’ve been having a good time hanging out in Australia so far. Melbourne (pronounced MEL-bin) is the largest city in the area, but we are staying in Ocean Grove, a small beach town two hours via public transportation from Melbourne. It’s a quiet town, and we enjoy walking into downtown or along the beach. A friend of mine from 4-H lives here and has graciously let us stay with her a couple weeks.

One day we took the bus to Geelong (pronounced ji-LONG) and ate at a lovely vegan restaurant called Dolly’s Sister. Their veggie burger was HUGE, and their macaroni and cheese was pure comfort. Although, it could have used some truffle oil… 

Dolly's Sister Burger

Another day we went to the Flying Brick Cider House with my friend. The cider was delicious; the food was mostly meat and cheese. But we got to sit outside under the warm sun, and I had a lovely time enjoying everyone’s company.

Flyingbrick Cider House

A common tourist destination around here is Phillip Island, which is about 85 miles (140 km) southeast of Melbourne. A lot of people go here in the summer to relax on the beach and watch the wildlife. We took a day tour of the island with Go West Tours

We visited a farm and learned about native Australian plants that are used in cooking. The lemon tea tree herb was delicious! 

Phillip Island Phillip Island

We went to the Koala Conservation Centre and watched koalas sleep high up in the trees. I wanted to give one a hug, but they really frown upon touching the koalas. Snakes are quite common too, but we have yet to see one.

Koala

We tasted some abysmal wine at Phillip Island Winery. Martin said the cheese they served was delicious though. 

Phillip Island Winery

I had an amazing vegan pizza and cider at the Hotel Bar and Restaurant in the biggest city on the island, Cowes. 

Phillip Island Vegan PIzza

We watched the sun set over the nobbies. Simply gorgeous. 

Phillip Island Nobbies Phillip Island Nobbies Phillip Island Nobbies

The entire trip culminated in watching the march of the penguins. Every day, thousands of little penguins come to shore at sunset, find their bungalow, and take a rest for the night before heading out to sea in the morning again.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the marching penguins (too many people have neglected to turn off their flash). At first this was really hard – so many photo opportunities! But then I was able to sit and watch the penguins without needing to do anything else. They were so blasted cute too.

Phillip Island Penguins

Since we don’t have to be in Brisbane until the beginning of December to house sit, we have a few weeks to explore Australia – a country the size of the continental United States. So, we’ve narrowed our destinations to Adelaide, Sydney, and the Great Barrier Reef – spending 5-7 days in each location. This means the next few days are full of making transportation and accommodation arrangements in between going for walks on the beach. Australia is pretty awesome.