Back in the car again this morning after breakfast. Last night our waiter suggested that we see Wilson's Promontory National Park instead of driving north of Melbourne to see wine country. He was afraid that with all of the bush fires burning because of the severe heat we'd be in serious danger if a fire began. We take his advice and arrive at the National Park around noon. It was a wonderful suggestion! Wilson's Promontory (affectionately known as 'The Prom.') is the southern most tip of continental Australia. The Tasman Sea is as blue as Caribbean waters. We have a lovely picnic lunch at Squeaky Beach - really- the sand squeaks as you walk on it! Then we take a nice walk on Norman Beach and watch the surfers and boogie boarders. The water is cold, but after the heat yesterday it feels wonderful.
We leave The Prom. around 3:00 and drive to Phillip Island for the highlight of our vacation! There's a colony of Fairy Penguins (Little Penguins) living here. In the evening they come out of the sea and waddle back to their burrows to feed their chicks and rest. We purchase tickets, have a really quick dinner and drive out to the viewing area. I make sure we're two hours early so we can get the best seats to see them. Sure enough, at 9:07 the penguins begin emerging out of the sea onto the beach. They are very skittish and spend a lot of time running back and forth from the beach to the water. They are very vunerable on the beach to the sea birds that are their predators. We watch them at the beach and then walk on the boardwalks to see them as they come back to their burrows. Their feathers are a grayish-blue and they're only about 12 inches tall. Adorable. Two hours later the guards are shooing us out. I don't want to leave.
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