PHILIP ISLAND – THREE PARTS (Australia VII)
Part two – The Penguin Parade
We went back to the Penguin visitor center after
seeing the Koalas and hung out there for a few hours. The fairy penguins, we
were told, were coming ashore sometime past five in the afternoon; we were there
a bit earlier. We walked around the center and went into the theater which
plays a short documentary about the penguins every 15 minutes. Then feasted our
eyes on the stuffed penguins on display and got to actually peek into some of
the penguins’ burrows through viewing boxes.
These are wooden boxes placed over cutaways in the penguin tunnels.
There are clear plastic plates mounted on the back of the boxes.
We wandered into the souvenir shops, two of them,
if I remember correctly and bought some items to take home, took pictures and
bought “Percy”, my little fairy penguin.
And then it was time for the viewing.
Russell put me inside a sleeping bag (lent to us by our good friends Barry and
Peg Huggett). The temperature was going to be low and we worried I might not
survive the cold so I got zipped up inside.
Then we walked out onto an elevated walkway and got
the best seat in the site, a special place for people in wheelchairs who can’t
sit in the bleachers. As the penguins come ashore they walk through a special
machine which detects their tag number and weights them so that the rangers
will know how long each penguin has been out and what weight of fish they’ve
caught. As they leave the machine, they walk directly underneath the area
reserved for wheel chaired viewers. Their path is a little over one foot below
where we were so we got good close up view.
I still couldn’t believe it! I was so close to Antarctica.
It was very cold but I really wanted to see the penguins. It was late dusk when
the penguins came ashore and my first sight of them was just amazing! They seem
to come in groups. One penguin actually stopped below just in front of us,
looked around before it continued. They are so cute; they waddle on their short
legs. Fairy penguins are not big birds, they’re only a foot tall and, they look
like they’re wearing a dinner suit. You can see them even in the dark because
of their white chest and underside. I love them! Unfortunately, photography of the penguins is
banned due to the adverse effects of the flashgun on the birds.
And then it started to rain. I thought maybe I could stay a little bit longer but I was just really too cold so I had to ask Russell to take me back to the center. The sleeping bag was getting filled with water.
We had dinner at a place called “Bistro” near the
beach at Cowes before we went back to the hotel for the night.
It was awesome meeting the penguins! I still get
excited when I think about it. Our Philip Island adventure didn’t end there though and
I will tell you next time about where we went the next day.
I never imagined I’d ever actually see a penguin up
close and not in the zoo but see them in their natural habitat. It’s just SURREAL.
Sometimes God just surprises us.
NOTE: click on the pictures to enlarge
Also read: PHILIP ISLAND – THREE PARTS (Australia VII)
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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