I knew I was going to like the place as soon as I drove over the bridge and saw a rainbow reflecting over Phillip Island. Little did I know a rainbow would be the first thing that welcomed me into the Mornington Peninsula, Wilsons Promontory and Kangaroo Valley. It simply means I picked the rainy season to road trip up the East Coast but still.
The sun was quickly setting and I decided to go straight to the Penguin Parade, knowing this was the place to be for tourists after dark. It cost $24! Handing over that amount of cash broke my heart a little bit considering I was living in my car and eating bananas almost exclusively. Unfortunately, the price meant I couldn’t really enjoy it as much as I should have done. Yeah, there were penguins and yeah, they were pretty cute but all I could really think was ‘this cost me $24 and photos are prohibited so nobody will know I even came here, so what’s the point?’ I know we already established I’m a pics or it didn’t happen kinda person.
It wasn’t just the price or the lack of photos I disliked about the Penguin Parade. I didn’t enjoy the over commercialised gimmicky aspect to the place. Not only was it packed with tourists, it felt a bit like they built this huge venue to simply profit off nature. Having said that, I did appreciate their sustainability efforts.
The next morning I decided to go to the Koala Conservation centre. It cost $13 and I much preferred it to the Penguin Parade. Not only was it cheaper, it was a lot less crowded and I could wander around peacefully, observing the koalas without being squished between other people who are telling me off for having my camera out.
Up next: Island Whole Foods for a coffee and a break. Translation, I’d sit there for several hours and write my blog till they closed. I ordered an almond milk cappuccino, a stack of Japanese pancakes for lunch and a chilli chocolate raw fudge cake for dessert, forgoing my decision to budget. Bit late for that, isn’t it?
I spent the afternoon watching the sunset over Surf Beach from my van and preparing for the next leg of the journey: Wilson’s Promontory. Overall, I only spent 24 hours on Phillip Island but I did everything I wanted to do and enjoyed it a lot more than the Mornington Peninsula. It might have been because the rain finally cleared up, it might have been because I met this really cute golden Labrador outside the YMCA. I can’t exactly say what I loved about Phillip Island, other than the fact than I liked it? A bit pathetic, I know. Wow, I’ve got to start getting better at this blog writing malarkey.
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