Most of our time in the Melbourne area was actually on Phillips Island. Two significant attractions on Phillips Island are the Koala Conservation Center and the Penguin Parade.
The Koala center afforded a closeup view of a number of Koalas in their natural habitat. These creatures sleep about 20 hours a day hence they are cute but not terribly exciting.
The big tourist attraction on Phillips Island is the Penguin Parade. The penguin species here, the smallest in the world, come out of the sea each evening and waddle up the beaches to their nests in the local underbrush. Presumably there are several thousand of these little creatures making this trip each evening just after dark. We sat in the chilly bleachers along with hundreds of other tourists to watch. The penguins were interesting but the whole experience was a bit underwhelming because they come from the water a handful at a time over such an extended period of time. Photography is not allowed once the penguins start out.
