Mornington Peninsula 2

Today we crossed over to the other side of the peninsular and eventually drove all the way to Phillip Island.

First stop was Cape Schanck where we parked near the lighthouse.

Then followed one of the marked trails.  We didn't know what to expect and our jaws dropped when we saw the view. 

Pulpit Rock is the mound in the distance and all around are basalt cliffs.

Once again the boardwalk was of sturdy construction and we had no trouble getting down to the beach area.

We decided against following the youths to the Pulpit Rock, but I was happy to have them in my pictures for scale.

Halfway back and we realised just how far we'd walked and how far we still had to climb back up to the car - but it was well worth it.

We then had a long drive, all around the bay to Phillip Island.  All along the route were these beautiful flowering gum trees (Corymbia ficifolia).

The bridge onto Phillip Island.

Some of the birds we saw during the day.

Superb Fairy-wren m

A pair of dozing Galahs

And an active one

Magpie Lark

Not sure what species this pair is.

This rather handsome bird is a Cape Barren Goose

Purple Swamphen

This part of Australia is full of national parks, which are quite often virtually empty.  However at the western end of Phillip Island there is an "attraction" called Penguin Parade where you can watch little penguins come ashore at dusk and head for their burrows.  All sounds very nice, except huge seating has been erected with floodlighting, although interestingly they say that penguins have sensitive eyes and there photography is therefore banned.  I feel very sorry for them having to run the gauntlet of humans.  Not my image as this is not our way of observing nature. 

We drove into the national park and walked along yet another the cliff top boardwalk admiring the amazing turquoise waters.

We got chatting to a volunteer ranger and asked what the little boxes were for on the cliff sides = penguin burrows = sure enough one was occupied (apparently when they're moulting they don't go out much!).

I see a face and a big fat stomach in this rock.

From there we took an alternative route back along the cliff tops and were lucky enough to see this little penguin just sitting there.  The cliffs are quite high but apparently penguins can travel up to 2km to get to their burrow each night.

Another curious wallaby

We stopped for a hot drink at the visitor centre and got chatting to a waitress who recommended we visit Churchill Island on our way home as it was good for wildlife.  Although it's a working farm which you pay to visit, you can apparently just walk through the grounds free of charge but when we got there the gates were firmly locked.  We parked up and walked through the woods for about 1/2 hour to a lake but there wasn't much to see and it rather felt like we were trespassing.

A long day but an enjoyable one.