Victoria (Melbourne Region)
Phillip Island
PHILLIP ISLAND, with its southern edge facing Bass Strait and its northern edge in the calm waters of Western Port Bay, is a hugely popular holiday destination from Melbourne, famous above all for the nightly roosting of hundreds of Little penguins at Summerland Beach. Most visitors come only for the Penguin Parade, but spending a few days on the island will allow you to explore some dramatic coastal scenery and fine beaches, and a couple of well-organized wildlife parks. Cowes, on the sheltered bay side, is the main town and a lively and attractive place to stay. Other, smaller, communities worth a visit are Rhyll, to the east, and Ventnor, just west of Cowes. wpe16.jpg (28275 bytes)

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A daily V/Line bus to Cowes departs from Melbourne in the afternoon, with an additional evening service on Friday; the bus drivers will usually drop you off where you request in Cowes. There’s no public transport when you get there, however, so it can be tricky trying to get to the Penguin Parade, over 10km from Cowes. Planning to stay at the Amaroo Park YHA makes sense: their “duck truck” package ($84 including transport to and from Melbourne, up to three nights’ dorm accommodation, island tour and admission to Penguin Parade plus a half-day use of mountain bikes; daily departures) is extremely good value, as is their tour from Cowes to Wilson’s Promontory National Park ($45 including meals and entrance fees). 

If you are short of time, a day-tour from Melbourne is a good way of making the most of the island. One of the best is the long-established Autopia Tours (tel 03/9326 5536), who pick you up from central Melbourne or St Kilda. Their daily one-day tour (11am–midnight; $50 including entrance fees) takes in the Wildlife Park, Koala Conservation Centre and Penguin Parade, as well as seal Rocks and the Nobbies. Oz Experience include Phillip Island in their itinerary on their Sydney to Melbourne run.

If you’re driving, head southeast from Melbourne on the Princes Highway to Dandenong, then follow the South Gippsland Highway to Lang Lang and from there the Bass Highway to Anderson where the road heads directly west to San Remo and the bridge across to the island, a drive of approximately three hours in total. The scenic lookout about 3km before San Remo is worth stopping at, for fantastic views of Western Port Bay and the surrounding countryside. SAN REMO itself has lots of motels, a picturesque fishing fleet by its wharf and a co-operative selling fresh fish and crayfish. Not surprisingly, you can get delicious fish and chips; the best are served at the building at 121 Main St.

NEWHAVEN, the first settlement you come to after crossing the bridge, has a large tourist information centre (daily 9am–5pm, longer in summer; tel 03/5956 7447; for accommodation bookings tel 1300/366 422), where you can pick up a free map and buy tickets for the Penguin Parade, ferry tours, and for Churchill Island (daily noon–4.30pm; $5), barely 1km out of town via a rickety bridge. Your admission allows you to look round a historic homestead and cottage in English-style gardens, surrounded by ancient moonah trees, abundant birdlife and an unspoilt coastline.

Apart from the numerous wildlife attractions the island also boasts a winery: Phillip Island Vineyard and Winery, on a signposted route on Berrys Beach Road, off Back Beach Road (daily: April–Oct 11am–5pm; Nov–March 11am–7pm), where you can sample their various wines, among them chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot (tastings $2 per person). There’s also a small courtyard café serving cakes and cheese platters, which you can enjoy while overlooking the vineyard and fields.

Phillip Island Wildlife Park
Phillip Island Wildlife Park, on Thompson Avenue just 1km south of Cowes (daily 9am–sunset; $9), is a shady shelter for Australian animals, most of them enclosed and not all native to Phillip Island. Highlights include the beautiful pure-bred dingoes, Tasmanian devils, fat dozy wombats which you can hold and feed if they’re awake (but watch out, they bite), as well as an aviary and a koala reserve. Free to range are emus, Cape Barren geese, wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos and pademelons.

Koala Conservation Centre
The Koala Conservation Centre on Phillip Island Tourist Road between Newhaven and Cowes (daily 10am–5.30pm; $5) is run by Phillip Island Nature Park and aims to keep the koala habitat as natural as possible while still giving people a close view. A treetop boardwalk through a part of the bushland park allows visitors to observe these marsupials at close range. At 4pm the rangers provide fresh gum leaves – a very popular photo opportunity. The centre’s purpose is to breed disease-free koalas, as on Phillip Island they’re infected with chlamydia. You can learn about koalas in the excellent interpretive centre.

For more regional information on Phillip Island, go to: