I took Friday off originally to go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, but then decided to be responsible and purchase a much needed refrigerator. The blue cooler really wasn’t cutting it. I toyed with canceling my day off, but ultimately decided to take it as a stay-cation day. On about Wednesday, we decided this would be a really great weekend to finish unpacking our boxes and take a drive around Port Philip Bay. Ben booked us a room at the Coachman Motel on Philip Island and we hit the coast after lunch on Friday.

First up, the beaches along the south coast. It was so hot (108F), so I was already in my swim suit and coverup that looks like a dress. While I did not get entirely into the water, because it was actually quite cold, I did get in up to my knees at both stops.

This is along the Esplanade between Brighton and Mornington. Before we bothered them, the seagulls were lined up perfectly straight just out of the lapping waves.

After we bothered them, they floated in the crystal clear water for a while. Honestly, I thought Lake Superior was clear, but Port Philip Bay makes it Lake Superior look cloudy!

We moved along the coast a bit, until we saw the colorful beach boxes. I’ve been meaning to get down to Brighton to see them in person…They were larger and brighter than I imagined. People literally pay a lot of money to have a hut on the beach to keep their things in. While I think these are beautiful, you’d really need to be committed at a specific beach to make this worthwhile. These are somewhere between Mornington and Safety Beach.
Next up, Philip Island!

One of the things I’ve been quite excited to do since we arrived is see the Penguin Parade. Apparently hundreds of little penguins march their way across the beach and into their burrows each night. So, we got ourselves checked into the Coachman Motel, bought general admission tickets online, realized we had no way to print them and headed over 2 hours early, just in case we needed to argue and to check out the museum. Turns out, it was no problem and the kid talked us into upgrading to better seats.

While we were checking out the penguin museum, I spied a Wallaby! It’s not a kangaroo, but at least now we’ve seen something that hops!
Around 7:15pm they announced that the doors were open and we could head down to choose our seats. When we got there, the ranger pointed out the best seats in the house, which were already taken, but we got the second best seats. We could see clearly both the beach and the penguin pathway. We were having a grand time viewing the hungry youngsters…
…and having selfies…
…until it started to rain and rain and pour. By the time the penguins began to come across the beach, we were soaking wet and thoroughly frozen. I was, quite literally, dripping hair dye from the end of my nose onto my dress.
Unfortunately, you’ve already seen my only penguin photo. They do not allow photography, because some people are too dumb to turn off their flash. Flashing these precious little creatures is very distressing to them and causes them not to return to the beach, ultimately causing their babies to starve to death. I guess I completely understand the rule!

Back to that upgrade the kid at the door talked us into: TOTALLY WORTH IT! We were sitting in the path where 65% of the penguins approach land from the water. We saw hundreds of little penguins waddle past; the ranger said the other group (of 1500 people) only saw 25.

The next morning, we took our coffee and bread on Cowes Beach to figure out our game plan for the day.
We decided to head for The Nobbies to see if the fur seals were out of the water. Along the way, we found this gorgeous green beaked goose.
once we arrived at The Nobbies, we realized it was much too cold and windy for the fur seals to be out of the water, but the landscape was amazing!

I was very brave when we came across this creepy slitherer. The copperhead snake is venomous, but quite shy. According to the signs posted, he will not attack unless he feels threatened. Still, snakes freak me out and I could not get away fast enough!
Next, we headed for the Koala Conservation Centre, but along the way stopped at this beach. We both thought that many of the rocks on Philip Island looked like lava. A sign on this beach confirmed our suspicions.
At the Koala Conservation Centre, we got to see koalas doing what they do best, sleeping. Most of them were much too high up for my iPhone photography, but I’m sure Ben will post some beautiful ones soon!
While we were on our walk about of the park, we came across our second wallaby!
After leaving the Koala Conservation Centre, we headed for Sorrento to take the ferry to Queenscliff.



Queenscliff must be quite a sleepy town, because when we arrived there at 6:00 pm, everything was closed! It looks super cute, so we will definitely be making a return trip.

In Geelong, we took a walk on the promenade, had dinner at the Sailor’s Rest and road the Ferris wheel on the beach.





My opinion, the south coast is much more exciting than the north coast, but we did miss the wineries:) Those will have to be another trip!