Last Sunday, I shared with you the details of our day trip to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. It is considered the world’s largest war memorial dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War I; at the same time it is one of the most famous day tours outside Melbourne.
I mentioned in my Great Ocean Road post that we took a number of day tours outside Melbourne during our 8-day visit. Today, I’ll share with you the whereabouts of the 2nd day trip – a day around Phillip Island.
Before I go into details, feel free to check out the other Melbourne posts I had – the stroll around the city’s parks, gardens & heritage sites, the walkathon around the hipster lane ways & communal spaces & the visit to the famous Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes. I also shared with you some information about Flinders Backpackers – the hostel where we stayed in Melbourne. I have a few more posts coming up after this so watch out!
Phillip Island
Phillip Island is a small Australian island located about 140+ kilometers southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. The island’s name came from Arthur Phillip, the 1st governor of New South Wales & was given by explorer George Bass. The island is connected by a concrete bridge from San Remo (from the main island) & Newhaven (the 1st suburb in the island). Phillip Island is a favorite summer destination of the locals because of its beautiful beaches & untouched nature. The island is also famous for tourists who want to have a glimpse of Australian wildlife & more importantly, to see wild kangaroos & penguins.
Day Tour Booking
Just like our Great Ocean Road tour, my friends & I booked our Phillip Island Tour with Sightseeing Australia. I totally forgot the name of the tour agency we were endorsed to but I’m sure that the agency is a member of the Get Lost Travel Group.
We got the day tour for AUD 115 per person. It includes a ride to & from Phillip Island from designated pick-up & drop-off points, morning snack, entrance to Maru Koala & Animal Park, wildlife viewing, a regular ticket for the Penguin Parade & a friendly & informative bus driver / tour guide. Lunch meals were not included. The tour guide handed our discount passes for the lunch at Maru Kitchen.
Planning to get an Australian tourist visa soon? I’ve summarized the visa application process into 6 steps. Check out the post here.
Itinerary
Let me share with you our itinerary for this day around Phillip Island. The tour bus picked us up in front of St Paul’s Cathedral, corner of Swanston St & Flinders St at 9:55 am & dropped us off at around 9:00 pm. The drive to & from the Phillip Island took about 1.5 hours per way.
MORNING TEA @ TOORADIN
Our 1st stop was for morning tea in an open space / park in Tooradin. The guide prepared cookies, coffee & tea for all guests. It was also the time when we officially met the people we are with for the day. It was probably the most diverse tour group I had so far – we basically had people from all over the world.
MARU KOALA & ANIMAL PARK
We headed to Maru Koala & Animal Park after morning tea. Our tour guide paid for our entrance fee (already included in the overall tour fee) & arranged a small talk about the koalas. My friends had a photo with the koala for an additional fee. I didn’t bother to have one because I already had a photo with a koala during my 2018 Brisbane visit. My friends & I went around the mini zoo & played with the kangaroos & other Australian native animals.
LUNCH @ MARU KITCHEN
We had our lunch in Maru Kitchen, Maru Koala & Animal Park’s in-house restaurant. We opted for 2 meat platters & oh boy, the servings were large. We used the discount voucher given to us by our tour guide. My friends & I were not able to finish everything so we decided to bring them for the rest of the day trip.
CAPE WOOLAMAI
After lunch, we headed to Cape Woolamai & walked barefoot along the beautiful coast of Bass Strait. Cape Woolamai’s golden beach is one of Melbourne’s most famous surfing spots. The weather during our visit was perfect – it was sunny with a bit of clouds & it was perfect for the photos.
PHILLIP ISLAND RACING CIRCUIT
The driver also took us outside Phillip Island Racing Circuit. The circuit is primarily used for racing events in the island. We were lucky to see & hear race cars running around the track during our short visit.
SWAN LAKE
We also went to Swan Lake, the only freshwater lake in Phillip Island. The lake has a 1.3 km walking trail that will take about 30 minutes walk. This place is perfect for bird watching. The lake was a little dry during our visit, resulting in just a few species present.
NOBBIES OCEAN DISCOVERY CENTRE
The Nobbies Centre is an ecotourism centre in Point Grand famous for its wooden boardwalks. These boardwalks provide an amazing view of rock formations in the Phillip Island’s coast. This place is also famous for fur seals, which didn’t show up during our visit. The centre has an on site cafe & a paid attraction called Antartic Journey.
PENGUIN PARADE
The last stop & the highlight of this day trip was the visit to the Summerland Beach for the Penguin Parade. A regular ticket to the parade was given to us by our tour guide & we immediately went to the viewing area & waited for the penguins. Guests who want a closer look at the parade have the option to pay for the Penguin Plus package where they will have a special viewing deck for the parade.
After sunset, the little penguins started to go back to their natural habitats from a day of fishing. They came back in groups & they were so cute. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed during the parade. Yes, I enjoyed the penguin parade but not much the waiting time.
After the penguin parade, we headed back to our tour bus & took the trip back to the city. Overall, the tour was alright. Personally, I liked our visit to the Maru Koala & Animal Park, the unexpected barefoot stroll along Cape Woolamai Beach & the penguin parade. It was a perfect day out with nature & wildlife!
Have you been to Phillip Island in the past? How was your trip? Which was your favorite spot? Keen on going to Phillip Island in the future? I’m interested to see how is it during winter. Do you have any questions about the day tour? Feel free to comment them below. If you want to remain anonymous to everyone, feel free to send your questions via email to contact@thewkndtravel.com & I’ll answer as soon as possible. Don’t forget to follow me & please please please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Thank you very much for spending time here today. See you in the next post! 🙂
PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.