Home Safe and Sound

Well, our last day was definitely the best by far! It was the perfect day to end our adventures in Australia. We booked a tour with Bunyip Tours and spent the day touring Phillip Island. Our first stop on the tour was a wildlife conservatory, where we trampled in the mud to see all the animals.

As we walked through the waterlogged, muddy grass, we saw koalas, dingos, a Tasmanian devil and of course, a cute wombat. I was certain the wombat would not come out of its den, but to my amazement he did! He was so cute...on a scale of 1 to 10...he was a sure million! I was asking the guide if anyone had domesticated them...and I am sure he thought I was quite bizarre as he replied...Ummm...no.

Then to the most amazing experience of hand feeding the wallabies and kangaroo. They were so cute! The wallabies would eat very slowly and neatly while the kangaroo was a messy eater...occasionally nipping your skin as he devoured the food. One of the little wallabies had a joey in her pocket and it was absolutely amazing!

Afterwards we headed over to Church Hill Farms to watch a sheep shearer shear a sheep. (LOL..say that 10 times fast). I think this farmer was the most authentic Australian farmer that we have met on our trip. He was quite amazing as we watched him strip the sheep and manipulate the animal around his legs while holding on with one hand and clipping with the other. The whole experience was done in 2 minutes. He gets paid 3$ a sheep and on average does 50 sheep a day...amazing!

After the farm we headed over to the Koala Conservatory and walked the boardwalks looking for koalas. They were quite high in the trees except for one, but we were not allowed to pet them as the pamphlet seemed to indicate...a little disappointing, but after the kangaroo / wallaby experience I wasn't too let down.

Our before last stop was the Nobbies were we tried to spot seals unsuccessfully as we were surrounded by seagulls - thousands of them. We did spot some penguins huddling under the boardwalk though. We lay down on the poop covered walk to see the little penguins not 3 inches from our faces. Incredible!

Last stop...the Penguin Parade. This amazing stop was a ranger filled conservatory of the smallest penguins of Australia. Every night about a thousand penguins come in from the ocean to meet up with their mates and babies. We sad huddled on a platform waiting for the penguins to come. When all of a sudden, the little creatures suddenly appear. The noise they make is quite distinct. We were unable to take pictures, but we did buy a movie. An unforgettable experience.