steamboat.goggle.allege
Weather: spectacular. 17C.

Just spent two nights exploring Phillip Island a 26 km (16 mi) long & 9 km (5.6 mi) wide island located about 125km southeast of Melbourne.

We have never been here before and to be honest, we thought there was not a whole lot worth making the trip for. By the time we were on the downward slope of the 640-metre bridge accessing the island, we realised our error.

This island is a tourist magnet (during the summer holidays I’ll bet the place is packed like a sweaty old sock full of marbles)…..and there is good reason for it. Oodles of wildlife to be observed….everything from Koalas, to Echidnas, to Seals to Penguins… with a cornucopia of birdlife. Augmented with many great coastal walks, beautiful green rolling hills and stunning ocean views.
And to cap it off….a decent spread of coffee shops and restaurants.

We ended up staying two nights and did a lap of the island including a little oopsy daisy side adventure down a narrow dirt road we had no business being on and no choice but to continue on in some forlorn, corrugated, cutlery spilling search for space to turn around.

Note to self: when GPS says go straight, that does not mean take a sharp right onto an unsealed surface following a handpainted wooden sign with the words ‘scenic route’ and a smiley face as a more interesting option.

• The earliest inhabitants of the area were the Yalloc Bulluk clan of the Bunurong people, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation.
• When photographing wildlife always be aware that it is by definition wild and may be seriously unimpressed with you sticking your telephoto into its core business (see main photo).
• Philip Island NRMA vanpark. Highly recommended. Clean with great amenities. We had a great stay.
  They even have a pizza oven in the camp kitchen, and they served up breakfast pancakes the morning we left.
• Plenty of information on what to see and do on Phillip Island on the WikiVoyage page.