Penguin Parade

This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! The unfortunate thing (with kids) is that it doesn't start until dusk, which is basically 8:00PM! It makes for a REALLY late night, but it's a once in a lifetime experience and the memories are priceless. We went to Phillip Island, where every night, for as long as anyone knows, this has been going on. Over 6000 little penguins come back from a long days work of finding food in the ocean and waddle back onto the shore where their babies are waiting to be fed! This is not a zoo, but a completely "wild" and natural part of nature that we got to experience first hand! We were mesmerized for a couple of hours while the penguins all waddled to their burrows where they fed their young, preened their feathers, and "protected" their individual homes! It was like watching a little colony and so amazing. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so the first two I actually bought at the gift shop, to be able to show a glimpse of what we saw.Coming in from the ocean
The general admission seats were at the top of the picture, but just for a few dollars more a ticket, we were able to sit in the seats at the bottom of the picture - SO WORTH IT! The penguins came right out of the water right in front of us and you can see the path where they walked right next to the seating and boardwalk - so incredible!
This was a fun sign we saw - so Australian!
these were some penguins we saw at the Nobbies. Little babies waiting in their burrows for their parent's return with food.