If I ever write a memoir… I’m going to call it Please Check Under Your Cars For Penguins. No particular reason other than it makes me laugh every time I think of it.
My Phillip Island day trip with Wildlife Tours Australia has been a blast so far — Brighton Beach bathing boxes & other memorable moments and Australian wildlife featuring koalas & kangaroos.
And now arrive we at the main event — viewing the penguins’ nightly march from the sea up into the hills of Phillip Island.
As we wait for the sun to set, we stroll the boardwalk to admire cliffside views.
The penguins will march from the sea up to these little wooden boxes built right into the hillside.
The things that look like white paper bags dotting the hillside are shields to protect baby plants as they begin to grow.
The cliffs, ocean swells, and intense green color are so dramatic. I feel like I’ve teleported to Ireland.
An iPhone selfie:
A tour guide points out that one of the penguins is already in its little box for the night. Perhaps it was under the weather and didn’t go into the ocean today?
You can barely see the little guy in this image:
As dusk approaches, our group hops back on the van to drive to the penguin viewing platform. We see this wallaby (it’s like a kangaroo with much smaller arms) from the van window.
Here are the viewing platforms we’ll sit on to watch the penguins’ daily sojourn from the sea to their little homes in the hills.
Unfortunately cameras are not allowed beyond this point. But picture tiny, wobbly creatures huddling together in packs as they dart to the safety of the hills.
Once we arrive at the penguin center, we await the official countdown. Only 22 more minutes!
Last night’s groups saw ONE THOUSAND, SIX-HUNDRED AND THREE penguins crossing the beach. That is a heck of a lot of penguins. It typically takes about an hour for all of them to cross from the sea to the hill.
Since we can’t take photos of the penguin crossing (unintentional flashes might blind them), I pulled these photos from Google images to show you what it looks like:
(images via here, here, here, and here)
Once the penguins are safely off the sand, the danger has passed and they can relax. The penguins break apart from their tightly formed packs and head off their separate ways. It is SO FUNNY to watch them “chat” as they work their way up the hill — I imagine their conversations in penguin-speak go something like this:
PENGUIN #1: Hey Bob, it was crazy out there today. You see that shark almost take off Charlene’s wing?
PENGUIN #2: Yeah man, that was a close one. What’s Shirley cooking for dinner tonight?
PENGUIN #1: If I come home to stuffed mouse one more time, I’m sending her for cooking lessons.
PENGUIN #2: Bon appetit! Hey, wanna grab a beer first?
I know what you’re thinking. I should pitch this as an animated feature.
Since I can’t take my own photos of the actual penguins, I’ll have to settle for shots of these cuddly, stuffed doppelgängers in the gift shop.
And here is the infamous sign that spawned the title for this post:
Don’t worry, we checked. ALWAYS CHECK.
Thanks to Wildlife Tours Australia for sponsoring this post by providing a 50% media discount. Opinions are my own.
