Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour with Guided Ranger Tour

Departing Melbourne at around midday, we journey to the city’s most colourful attraction – the iconic Brighton Beach bathing boxes – for an opportunity to visit the beach and take some time to admire these historic landmarks.

We continue our Phillip Island tour journey through Melbourne’s bayside suburbs on the way to the award-winning Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park for a unique Australian wildlife experience.

Here, we’ll enjoy a guided wildlife walk where we have the opportunity to meet and hand-feed many species of native Australian animals. Learn about iconic species such as kangaroos, koalas, emus & wallabies, as well as some of our lesser known favourites including quolls, owls, bandicoots & Tasmanian devils.

Included in our visit here is the spectacular “Conservation in Action” wildlife show, which showcases a number of lesser-known Australian species in a series of interactive and engaging ranger presentations. Continuing on to Phillip Island itself, a visit to Point Grant and The Nobbies gives us an opportunity to enjoy views over Westernport Bay and Bass Strait, including Seal Rocks, home to Australia’s largest population of fur seals.

And then we’ll reach what will undoubtedly be the highlight of your Phillip Island tour – the main event – for a fully ranger-guided group of no more than ten at the Penguin Parade for an experience you’ll never forget, where just after dark the world’s smallest penguins parade ashore after spending the day fishing out at sea.

You’ll be truly enchanted as the stars of the show emerge from the surf and pass right before your eyes on their journey back to their homes. Just on sunset, as some visitors begin to doubt that the birds will arrive, dark patches appear in shallow waters. The penguins’ familiar “huk huk” call is heard and they magically appear on the water’s edge. The penguins stand in the shallows, sometimes retreat in to the sea if they sense danger, regain confidence and again come to the beach. They usually regroup, sometimes numbering over 100 birds, and make their way up the beach to the dunes.Take a guided ranger tour through the penguin colony before settling into your reserved front row seats on the sand for the parade. Watch the penguins emerge from the water and make their march across the beach, then continue with your guide to the Penguins Plus platform. Each guest supplied with binoculars, a thermal seating mat and a headset for the ranger commentary.