Phillip Island
Trip Start
Jan 2003
1
119
200
Trip End
Dec 2003
Melbourne (Phillip Island),
Australia
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
With Roland a distant memory and Hanco (the Norwegian owner) seemingly unable to find us to demand his money back, we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. With nothing preventing us from leaving the city, we jumped on a bus tour (first time since Vietnam). Within a few minutes we felt like over-achievers as we were the only people on the bus who had done anything in Melbourne (football and St Kilda) or even Australia. the destination of the tour was Phillip Island, allegedly Australia's second most visited attraction after the Great Barrier Reef but ahead of the likes of Uluru and the Sydney Opera House.
Our guide was the entertaining and aptly named Phil who initially took us to an animal sanctuary/rehabilitation centre. While it was the usual array of koalas, kangaroos, wombats and emus it's always wirth the time and Phil told us a story I want and therefore choose to believe to be true. Apparently, when Captain Cook first saw the bouncing animal we know to be a kangaroo, he asked a native Aboriginal man what it was. The reply "Kangaroo". They later discovered (when it was too late) that the literal translation of the Aboriginal word, 'kangaroo' is "I don't know".
After this first stop and a mind-numbing trip to an unused mine, we made it to Phillip Island and its main attraction - The Penguin Parade. Animals usually associated with Australia certainly don't include the fairy penguin but on a daily basis, just after sunset scores of these adorable foot-high birds waddle from the sea onto the beach, up some tracks and into their homes. It's a bizarre sight and the penguins seem oblivious to the hundreds of gawking spectators.
Although we haven't seen Melbourne at the best time of year and we've had to devote a lot of time to the selling of the car, we're leaving with a positive impression of the place. Eating out has improved our thoughts on Australian cuisine and it's fitting that everyone spends a large proportion of their time dining away from home. Like all good things though, our time in Melbourne has come to an end and we're off to see what all the fuss is about in Sydney.
