The Best Phillip Island Tour Including The Penguin Parade

Are you looking for the best Phillip Island tour? Then you should definitely consider Hike and Seek! I had a fantastic day with this company and would highly recommend them for a small group experience packed full of activities, and professional, informative staff. In this post I am going to be telling you all about the best Phillip Island tour including the Penguin Parade starting and ending in Melbourne, so that you can decide if Hike and Seek would be the right choice for you.

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This post is all about the best Phillip Island tour and the Penguin Parade.

The tour started by meeting Jeremy, our tour leader for the day, outside Hamer hall at 11:20am. There were only four of us on the tour which was lovely as it made it feel more personal. We hopped in the van and started our drive towards Phillip Island.

On the journey, Jeremy told us the history of Melbourne and Phillip Island and how the island was named.

To take a look or book the same tour as I did, here is the tour!

Churchill Island:

After crossing the bridge, we first went onto another little island called Churchill Island which is home to a historic farm which you can visit. However, we did not, we just stopped and saw the view and the fields’ residents, the beautiful shaggy Highland cattle. Jeremy told us how they had been introduced to Churchill Island by Samuel Amess to help him feel at home (he had immigrated from Scotland).

Fisher’s Wetland:

After this, we went back across the bridge and stopped at Fisher’s Wetland to do some bird watching. Luckily, Jeremy was extremely knowledgeable about birds, and he was able to identify many different species for us which was very interesting. He also pointed out Sea Spinach which was growing on the side of the boardwalk and told us we could try it. It was surprisingly salty but tasty! (Note: please do not eat plants without being 100% sure on what they are as some plants can be extremely poisonous to eat. I recommend only eating plants when with someone who has knowledge about this).

Pyramid Rock:

After this, we jumped back in the van and went for our longer hike of the day. It was a scorching hot day, so Jeremy had chosen a different walk to the standard one, so that we wouldn’t be in the sun for as long. However, the views did not disappoint. He took us to Pyramid Rock. I couldn’t get over how colourful the water was! It was truly spectacular. Very close to the start of the walk, there is also the Grand Prix Circuit – and we even got to see some of the motorbikes whizzing past.

The walk was a beautiful coastal path taking us along the top of the cliff to Berry’s beach. We then had some time at Berry’s beach to relax or go for a swim before heading back.

Koala Reserve:

Then we were taken to the Koala Reserve where it is possible to see koalas in a semi natural habitat. They are in enclosures not cages and you can enter the boardwalks to search for them. In other words, you are guaranteed to see a koala, however, it is not a “wild” koala. It was still great to see nevertheless, but I am still waiting to actually see one in the wild out here in Australia.

Apart from the koalas, there is also a forest walk where you can spot other wildlife such as birds and wallabies. As it was late afternoon/ early evening we saw some swamp wallabies and also some very beautiful birds including the Superb Fairy Wren.

Swan Lake:

By this time, it was early evening ,so we had some free time in Cowes to get dinner before going on another little walk around Swan Lake. Another boardwalk with some hides by the lake and we managed to see lots of wildlife there including more swamp wallabies, many butterflies and the Cape Barren goose.

Penguin Parade:

Then, finally it was PENGUIN TIME!! We first made our way to The Nobbies and walked the boardwalk there and were able to spot a few little penguins hiding out under the boardwalk! It was also gull breeding season and their were hundreds of gulls flying around! Luckily, I wasn’t used for target practice!

At 8:40pm it was time to make our way to the penguin parade, and oh, how different it was to my expectations. Not better, not worse; just different. It is an extremely popular place to visit (I also was there during the school summer holidays), and it is almost like a theatre. There are places to sit (like in a theatre) with the beach becoming the stage. They even sell popcorn!! A man is on the beach with a microphone giving you information about the penguins before they arrive.

We waited and waited and then suddenly you started to notice movement in the water, almost as if there were a school of fish or something surfing towards the beach. Then suddenly out pops a raft of penguins. They waited for each other and once they had made a small pack, they waddled their way up the beach and back to their nests ready to feed whoever had stayed behind for the day. This repeats along the whole beach.

After watching the initial parade, it was time to go back to the boardwalk where you can get much closer to the penguins (via the boardwalk) and see them waddling back to their nests, or watching the penguins go about their normal routine. It was quite remarkable to see.

Then at 10pm it was time to start the drive back to Melbourne. We arrived back at 23:45 after a truly amazing day!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the best Phillip Island tour!

love,

Penguin viewing etiquette:

As mentioned in the post, at the Penguin Parade, it is forbidden to use cameras. This is because the penguins have very sensitive eyes and a flash can really disorientate or even damage the penguins’ eyes, so it is really important to follow the rules.
The staff at the penguin parade are on top of this and enforce the rules. If you are seen taking a photo they will come and speak to you!

On their website, they have free photos which you can use instead of taking your own.

At the end of the day, think of the penguins!

This post was all about the best Phillip Island tour.

Once again – here is the actual tour:

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