The first time we visited Melbourne we did the Great Ocean Road tour. We liked that so much I chose the same tour company for this tour. The penguin parade begins at dusk, so we made several stops before the parade. These were not just filling time; they were worthwhile stops on their own.
First up were the Brighton Bathing Boxes, on a beach in an upscale Melbourne suburb. We had some free time there to walk around, and there were toilets and water refills. Sydney is (justly) more famous for its beaches but Melbourne doesn’t lack beaches.
Our next stop was the Moonlit wildlife sanctuary. I highly recommend visiting a wildlife sanctuary in Australia because so many of the mammals are nocturnal. We arrived in time to see a brief wildlife show. We got to see this glider in action. The other is a koala.
As is so often the case in Australia, the birds stole the show. The cockatoo top left and frogmouth bottom right were both part of the show. We saw the parrots — I swear the green one is giving the other eye roll — owl, curlew, and the other frogmouth while walking around the sanctuary.
There were plenty of furry creatures too. We were in time for Tasmanian devil lunch and saw a rare white kangaroo. And got to participate in one of the best activities, handfeeding ‘roos and wallabies. (They sell food for about $3.) The sanctuary had toilets and a cafe and gift shop.
From the sanctuary we headed for the coast and a stop at a wild beach. It wasn’t as dramatic as some of the stops on the Great Ocean Road but you do get some idea of what the coast is like.
Next up was the Nobbies, where we were greeted by an echidna. The hillsides have long stretches of boardwalk for taking in the sea views or scouting for whatever wildlife might be around.
We spied some fairy penguins hanging out beneath the boardwalks and in their nesting boxes. They’re the star of the next show.
While driving around the area we saw wallaby browsing and a number of the local geese, famous for getting in the way of traffic. This area used to have human habitation but the humans were moved out to make room for the wildlife.
Here’s an overview of the penguin parade stands along the beach. People started settling in around dusk, when they gave instructions that of course many ignored. They’re very serious about not taking photos of the penguins, who have sensitive eyes. (I actually tried the “auntie stare” on some girls sitting behind us and it worked. Briefly.) Our guide gave us all kinds of tips on the best places to sit and how long to stay seated.
We did not take the set of photos below. The Penguin Parade website has a photo gallery that you are free to download from. The “parade” wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Predators wait for the penguins to come in, so they tend to come ashore in small groups, sending out a scout first to make sure it’s safe. With the dim light and the rocks onshore they can be hard to see, but we did see some on their way in. Even more entertaining was walking the boardwalks inland and catching small groups of them chatting, or sitting outside their burrows. Listening to them was at least as fun as watching. They can spend weeks at sea so every night features reunions between friends, neighbors, and partners. It just made me smile. They’re very social.
We saw this possum on a trash container on our way back to the visitor center and our van for the trip home. We had time for a burger at the visitor center cafe before the penguin parade. The food came fast. We barely sat down before it was ready. The tour was well-organized and our guide was friendly, personable, and very informative. The owner was running another tour the same day and stopped by to say high. I highly recommend Go West Tours if you’re in the Melbourne area.
The exact schedule of the penguin parade changes throughout the year, since it’s driven by sundown when the penguins come in. The number of penguins also varies each day. We were hearing about 1500 the day we were there.
