After Brighton Beach, we set off to the next destination - Phillip Island!
It took us approx 2 hrs to reach the island but somehow time flies when you are enjoying the ride and the scenery that passes by.
Clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds!
Reached Phillip Island, bought our tickets at the visitor centre and we got the 3 park pass for $42AUD if I'm not wrong. The pass included entry to Churchill Island Heritage Farm, Koala Conservation Centre and the Penguin Parade.
We headed to the Churchill Island Heritage Farm first!
First things first. Lunch at a cafe within the farm. Our fish and chips took awhile so they top up the chips portion. We shared this since I dabao my ricotta hotcakes from breakfast lol.
There's something about fish and chips in Aussie that never ever goes wrong. The batter is a thin coat with awesome fish within that is never oily, their fries are really addictive too!
After filling our bellies, we started exploring the farm! As we needed to reach the Penguin Parade by 5pm, we allocated about an hour for each attraction and that is more than enough time for us to browse around and enjoy ourselves!
Farmers cracking the whip and showing us how-to.
Other animals in the farm!
Its hair is damn coarse haha. I should have pet its face or something other than the hair. LOL.
The next item on the list is the farmer showing us how a shepherd gathers the sheep herd into a common direction. The legit 牧羊犬.
Then we witnessed how sheep shearing is done. The wool is super thick!!
The shearer is so skillful that he managed to get the entire coat of wool off the sheep and it blankets across the entire floor!
After which, we headed to the Koala Conservation Centre!
There were loads of information about Koala and their habitat, their living habits and the likes. It is quite interesting reading some of the facts.
There were alot of koalas along the boardwalk so we had lots of fun trying to spot them!
Most of them were snoozing but they look so so cute!
After which, we headed to the last attraction for the day! - Penguin Parade! We were looking forward to it the most. Hehe.
We were there an hour earlier just watching time pass and waiting for the sun to set. It is only upon sunset that penguins will slowly return back to the shores in their groups. We were told that those penguins are wild penguins and definitely not trained in anyway, they just return back to the island daily after a day of fishing so most likely they will return with fatter tummies haha.
Really excited by then but it was really cold too!! So glad that I wore a thicker sweater that day, the boy was almost freezing!
Around 6+pm, the penguins slowly came back to the shore and they were really cute!! They look so petite and tiny! I guess they work by buddy system because they would often stop and wait around for their buddy before continuing the path home! I wish I could snap a few photos but photography were not allowed. They have rangers walking around checking out people with phones so it was really hard for me to sneak snaps!
At this point, we were already wandering along the boardwalk and checking them out. They were really tiny and cute beyond words haha. And there were so many of them.
Loner penguin waiting for its partner
We left at about 7pm and headed to an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was a quick 10 mins ride and we were absolutely famished by then!
Dinner was at a really atas place - Cucina a Isola which was recommended by TripAdvisor.
Garlic bread as starter, which was delish! Soft and garlicky bread, da yums!
For mains, we had pasta each. They serve both entree and main portion. When we inquired with the staff, he suggested the main portion if we are really hungry and it will be just nice for one person. We should never have listened to him and order the entree instead.
Because when our main course arrived, our jaw dropped as the portion was HUGE! It might not look like a lot but it is really.
Fettuccini Carbonara for me!
Linguini Marinara for the boy
They were really generous with the portion! There were 10 mussels, 8 prawns and several squids together with loads of pasta.
It was a really yummy dinner. We managed to finish the Marinara in the end but had to dabao the Carbonara back to the hotel haha.
After dinner, we started our 2hrs drive back to Melbourne city that night.
It was a crazy ride as there were a few to zero street lights and we had to rely on the headlights of the cars ahead to know where we are going. Towards the end, we were the only car on the road and the boy had to high beam on and off just to catch a glimpse of the road ahead! There were several bends and roundabouts also so it was quite a thriller. I was half scared out of my wits already then.
Thankfully, we managed to return to Melbourne city in one piece. I think the boy's driving skills really level up many many in this one trip haha.
