Being that New Years is the most overhyped holiday of the year, I was over the moon that this time around Luke and I would be heading away to Phillip Island. We rented a house with a beautiful view and spent 5 days with great friends, killing time with board games, trips to the Koala Park, and probably my favourite excursion, the Phillip Island Penguin Parade. Look how small and adorable they are, so precious!
Although the penguins generally come up off the beach at dusk, and you’re prohibited from taking photos at that time (don’t want to scare them back into the ocean!), we were lucky enough to be walking along the cliffs that afternoon and find one sleepy little guy just outside his nest. Honestly I still melt inside remembering what an experience that was. Call me ignorant, but I had no idea there were wild penguins that lived anywhere outside of Antarctica, so this was a major treat.
On the drive over to the penguin parade, we also spotted a wallaby on the side of the road. I kept my distance because I do not want to get kicked by any marsupials, but I just cannot get over how unreal it is to see them up close. And how about the kangaroos on the horizon from the balcony of our house? I was totally tourist-fangirling over them with my zoom lens while everyone else carried on with the board games.
If you ever get a chance to head to Phillip Island while in the Melbourne area, definitely do it. It is absolutely beautiful, and you’ll be hard pressed not to see any native Australian wildlife. And let’s face it, if you’re North American, that’s exactly what we’re after for the real Aussie experience! That photo of the koala mama and baby was taken using no zoom whatsoever. I was on a boardwalk in the trees, and I was really that close. So amazing.
I know I’ve posted this about a month late, but January went by in a flash and I’m only getting to sift through my photos now. Time is going by so quickly lately, which is just another reason to keep up with my photography. There’s no way I can remember all of this stuff in 10 years. Is it seriously already February?
