Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019

Friday, 9/20/2019 - Queen Victoria Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Penguin Parade at Phillip Island

We had made plans to meet Alison at breakfast. We took the elevator down to the lobby and took a marble staircase flanked by leaded glass windows down to the restaurant in the basement. The staff were quite friendly and attentive. The dining room was cozy and comfortable. Jazz was playing quietly, reminding us of our dear frfiend Karmilla. The hotel buffet was extensive, and we enjoyed fresh yogurt, eggs, sausage, muffins, fruit, hash browns, toast, pineapple juice, and coffee.

Our scheduled excursion for the day, the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, didn't depart until the afternoon. We had the morning to ourselves, so we decided to explore the area on foot with Alison.

We left the hotel and passed St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral and smiled at a banner hanging on the front of the church which read "Let's fully welcome refugees." It was a bit tricky walking down the street as there was construction going on and the sidewalk was closed on one side of the street.

We crossed the street and passed Flinders Street Station. A row of round analog clocks depict the next departure time for each train line. This tradition started in the 1860's, when the previous station building stood here. The clocks migrated to the new station which was built in 1910. These clocks are beloved by Melburnians, and have become an iconic meetingplace. During station renovation in 1983, they removed the clocks with plans to replace them with digital displays. The public outcry was so vast that they reversed their decision within a single day. The clocks remain.

We crossed the Yarra River via Princes Bridge. The bridge was built in 1888. Its piers are adorned with old fashioned black iron lamps. On the opposite side of the river, we passed some cultural venues, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the architecturally distinct State Theatre (which hosts opera, ballet, and musical theatre performances), and the National Gallery of Victoria. The latter was adorned with a large poster of its current noteworthy exhibit: Terracotta Warriors from Xi'an China. The museum was not yet open and there was already a line waiting for admission. They were mostly young Chinese adults; we surmised that they are probably studying here in Melbourne, taking the opportunity to see these fascinating historical objects from their own culture for possibly the first time.

Then we crossed the street to explore the Queen Victoria Gardens. Here we enjoyed the flowers, birds, trees, and public art. I had not been hip to the concept of a floral clock prior to this trip, but here was the second one we had come across in Australia. This clock consists of 7000 flowering plants, donated to the city in 1966 by a group of Swiss watchmakers.

The clock is situated next to a bronze statue of King Edward VII on a horse by Bertram Mackennal. We admired beds of vibrant yellow, pink, and white flowers. A magnolia tree with deep pink blossoms reminded me of my parents' yard. As we wandered, a magpie walked alongside us, chatting with us.

The public art in the park was quite impressive. One adorable inmstallation was called Water Children. These two bronze figures, a boy and girl, were created by John Robinson. They are peeking over a stone ledge above a water feature, looking as though they are trying to catch frogs or other critters under the ledge. A bronze statue called The Phoenix by Baroness Yrsa Von Leistner stood stoically on a stone in a small pond. On a plinth made of small stones sits the nude bronze Water Nymph by Paul Montford. The way that the public art is incorporated into the rest of the landscape is quite impressive.

Alison sat on a park bench next to a small pond. It was quite tranquil, with ducks and pigeons wandering around.

The most whimsical piece of art was certainly The Genie: A Fantasy Play Sculpture for Children by Tom Bass. It kind of reminded me of a sphinx if it was rendered by cubists.

The Genie's design is a synthesis of Western and Eastern art forms, and combines the characteristics of an Egyptian cat with a lion. It was designed to complement its natural surroundings, while still being able to attract the attention of children. Its form and textured surface are intended to encourage play and to extend children's experience of art by inviting direct physical contact.

- eMelbourne

Since we are all essentially kids at heart, we wanted to play on it. Unfortunately, it was covered with a handful of religious propaganda stickers. Craig and Alison peeled them off, and then we each took pictures of one another sitting on it.

Then we walked up a hill to the Queen Victoria Memorial, a white marble statue of this state's namesake. The statue's base is a 4-sided frieze depicting different eras of her life. I walked around the statue with my phone on panorama photo mode, and it created a flattened image of the 4 friezes. It turned out better than I anticipated, producing quite an interesting effect.

Passing the terra cotta warrior exhibit at the National Gallety of Victoria had obviously made an impression on Alison. She asked if we would want to see the exhibit. We had seen them in Xi'an China in 2015, so we preferred to continue exploring the gardens of Melbourne. Today was cool and cloudy, the perfect weather for us to walk around this new city. But we encouraged Alison to see them; they are definitely worth it! So we went our separate ways and would meet up again for the Penguin Parade in the afternoon.

Craig and I walked to King's Domain. We sat on a park bench with next to a pond featuring ducks and koi. Then we explored the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. This is a lovely outdoor venue with an upper lawn and views of the city skyline on the other side of the river. The gates were open, so we strolled through its beautiful park-like landscape. Statues here include Miraggio by Pino Conte and Hand of God by Carl Milles. Some hugely famous acts have played here, including AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Wings, Neil Young, ABBA, Midnight Oil, and R.E.M.

As we continued through the tree-lined paths of King's Domain, several corella cockatoos flew in, landed, and proceeded to dig up the lawn with their beaks.

Next we explored the Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden, erected as part of the Melbourne Centenary in 1934 to honor the colonial women who settled Victoria. A reflecting pool in the center leads to a blue-tiled grotto containing a bronze lion's head which spouts water down onto a bronze statue of a bathing woman. Along with the lush green of grass and leaves, the predmoninant color pallette in this garden is white and pink; quite feminine.

In contrast to this wide open lawn and reflecting pool with a perimeter of flowers and shrubs, we next explored Fern Gully. It was a cozy garden of thick vegetation accessible via narrow stone staircases. It is like descending into a primeval ecosystem with water features and stone footbridges. Small waterfalls splash water onto moss-covered rocks. It is certainly an oasis; you would have no idea that you are in the city center.

In designing the Fern Gully, William Guilfoyle sought to recreate the fern gullies of the Australian bush. Fossil evidence shows that the soft tree fern dates back to when Australia was part of the super continent Gondwana. Ferns are one of the first plants to re-generate after hot wild fires that kill many other plants.

- Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

This was Craig's favorite part of the park, and it was tempting to just sit here enjoying the solitude. But there was still more to explore. We passed through the Lych Gate to the Royal Botanic Gardens. This massive garden covers 89 acres. We were surrounded by old growth trees, beautiful vibrantly colored flowers, and succulents.

Across the river to our east, we could see the massive sports complexes of Olympic Park.

We passed a gazebo where Chinese people were performing group exercises. We had seen much diversity in Australia. There is obviously a vibrant and active Chinese population in Melbourne.

We explored the Lower Yarra River Habitat, comprised of marshes and mud flats. We could hear frogs here, but we didn't actually see any. A worker in an amphibious swamp buggy vehicle cleared the water of choking weeds.

We wandered through gardens and lawns, and passed a lake where tourists were punting. A little timber framed building that resembled a church provided a shady place to sit with nice views of the lake.

We walked for several hours and still only saw about a third of the gardens. We could have spent the rest of the day there, but we had to be back at the hotel to catch the bus to the Phillip Island Penguin Parade at 1:30. We also wanted to stop at a grocery store to buy some lunch to take on the excursion. So we headed back in the direction of our hotel.

We exited the gardens past the observatory, the Circus Oz big top tent, and the Shrine of Remembrance. We made our way back to Princes Bridge. As we crossed, we came across a busker named Cam playing some Led Zeppelin on an acoustic guitar. He was in the middle of "Thank You," and we stopped to listen. He was really good, so we tossed a tip into his guitar case. He thanked us and said that he would do one more. Craig asked which one, and he said "Tangerine." As far as I'm concerned, that was the best possible answer. We could stay a bit longer! I said, "That's my favorite Zeppelin song! Well, except for Kashmir," and we all laughed and agreed that Kashmir is pretty much impossible to play solo acoustic. He said that "Tangerine" is his wife's favorite as well. I took a video as he played and sang a great rendition.

Busker Cam performing Led Zeppelin's "Tangerine"

With Led Zeppelin III pleasantly dancing in our heads, we walked back to Flinders Street. We went to Woolworth's grocery store and got sandwiches and chips to take with us to the Phillip Island Penguin Parade. They had a bottle shop in the back of the store, and Craig bought himself a Metamorphosis India Pale Ale and I bought a Wild Raspberry Vodka Cruiser. We found out what time they close tonight, in case we want to buy a drink after we return from the Penguin Parade.

We walked a block back to the hotel and cracked open our drinks. I posted the morning's photos on Facebook. We gathered together what we wanted to take with us to the Penguin Parade.

At 1:30, we went down to the lobby to meet up with Eric, Allison, Alison, Forrest, and Sydney. We asked Alison if she enjoyed the terra cotta warriors. Unfortunately, the queue for the museum had been around the block, so she hadn't been able to see them after all.

The Little Penguin Bus pulled up in front of the hotel at 1:45 p.m.. This was a comfortable Toyota passenger van driven by David, who was wearing a baseball cap with a small plush penguin on the brim. He would drive us to Phillip Island for the nightly Penguin Parade, and then he would drive us back to the hotel afterwards.

There were several options for viewing the Penguin Parade (the spectacle of little penguins coming ashore each night). One option was to pay the entrance fee and observe the parade. Another was to be accompanied by a ranger who would teach you about what you were witnessing. Our group had opted for the latter.

Craig and I were curious about how this would work. Would it be way too touristy? Prior to this, we have had two opportunities to see penguins in the wild.

In New Zealand in 2003 we had seen this same species of penguin come ashore. It was Easter night, and we huddled behind a blind near a cliff in someone's farmland. Our location overlooked the beach below, and we could see the penguins from quite a distance as they came shore and hopped up the hill. This was a raw experience. We were the only ones around.

Then in Chile in 2005, we went to a penguin reserve. We walked on boardwalks above the marshland and could watch the penguins walking from the sea to their burrows. There were other people there, but it wasn't overrun with tourists.

We had the feeling that tonight's penguin spectacle would be much more commercial. But we still couldn't pass up the opportunity to see some wild penguins.

We settled in for the ~2 hour drive. David pointed out sites of interest as we left Melbourne and drove Southwest toward Phillip Island. Craig and I ate our lunches: chicken BLT's on Turkish rolls with sweet chilli and sour cream potato chips. We made one rest stop at a large convenience store where we could have purchased additional food if we wanted to, but we were full.

As we crossed the bridge to the Phillip Island, David gave us some context for what we would be seeing tonight. There is a colony of 32,000 Little Penguins on this island. Each night, a percentage of the colony comes ashore at dusk after a day of feeding. These penguins run across the beach, hopping on rocks, and walking inland up to 2 km to their nesting burrows.

We get to observe them coming ashore at a bleacher area overlooking the sea. Then we can walk on elevated boardwalks as they walk below us along teh shore to their burrows. This coming ashore is marketed as a "Penguin Parade," but that term originated in reference to the line of tourist vehicles coming to the island to see the penguins.

We arrived at the southwestern headlands of Phillip Island at around 4 p.m., a full two hours before we were scheduled to meet our ranger. David gave us some time to explore The Nobbies Boardwalk. We saw Cape Barren geese and their chicks. The expansive green seagrass and vegetation leading down to the black rocky beaches was criss-crossed with penguin trails. Wooden nest boxes provide shelter for penguin eggs and chicks.

David told us that photography is not allowed after dark, but we could take non-flash photos of any penguins we happened to see now. So we kept a very keen eye out for penguis as we enjoyed the sea air and walked along the boardwalk. After squinting into the darkness of many nest boxes, we finally caught sight of a chick's head. I tried to photograph it, but it is difficult to make out in the photo.

We met back up with David at the van at 4:45, and he drove us to the Penguin Centre. Along the way, we saw wallabies jumping along the hills. Before this, we had only seen kangaroos and wallabies in a zoo setting. It was very cool to see them out in the wild.

When we got to the Penguin Centre, David provided us with blankets in case we got cold in the bleacher seating watching the penguins. He also had rain ponchos which you could take with you. If you decided to open it and use it, you paid a couple of bucks to keep it. Otherwise, you return it to him unopened. This was very thoughtful, though Craig and I had brought our rain jackets with us.

David pointed us in the right direction, and told us he would meet us at the van in the bus parking lot afterwards.

The Penguin Centre had only recently opened in this location, and it was apparently a huge upgrade from their prior facilities. There were two gift shops. We bought a Christmas ornament in one, and 2 T-shirts in the other. Alison bought an adorable stuffed penguin. Some members of our group wanted to buy snacks and/or coffee, and so we sat with them in the food court while waiting for 6 p.m.

There was an exhibit of taxidermied penguins wearing brightly colored jumpers (sweaters), including one with a Superman motif. Penguinfoundation.org.au utilizes such sweaters to save penguins from oil spills. If penguins are exposed to oil, they attempt to preen and clean their feathers. Ingesting the oil can kill them. If they are put into a sweater soon after exposure, they are unable to reach their feathers. Oil matting also makes the penguins unable to regulate their body temperature. Wool sweaters keep them warm until they are able to be properly cleaned.

We ran into Brad, Mary, Elaine, and Bert. They had gone on a day-long excursion rather than our half-day. They were doing a ranger-guided experience tonight too, but they were in a different small group.

At 6 p.m. we met our ranger Jo. She led us into a back room where we could store any belongings that we didn't want to schlep out to the penguin viewing area. She passed out radio headsets, similar to what we had used at BridgeClimb Sydney, and binoculars. She told us some facts about the penguins, and passed around taxidermy specimens. It was a bit macabre, but we all posed with them for photos, as we wouldn't be able to photograph the living penguins. Flash photography, as well as the blue light from devices, can damage their eyes.

We put on our headsets and Jo led us via a boardwalk to the viewing stands. When we got to the bleachers, we were the first ones there. However, we couldn't take up the entire front row because another group was coming. Craig and I were bringing up the rear, so we ended up in the second row behind the others in our group.

The general admission bleachers (cheaper because you do not have a ranger guide) were quite crowded. We all settled in; it wasn't cool enough to need the blankets. Soon penguins were spotted. They gather in "rafts" in the ocean and come to shore together (safety in numbers). They have many predators, and are well camouflaged (dark blue on top so they aren't visible to sea birds, and white underneath so that they aren't visible to sharks.

In the twilight they were difficult to see. The beach in front of our bleachers was quite rocky. It was difficult to spot the penguins as their dark blue blended into the dark rocks. And we were looking through rows of human heads. The beach was yellow sand in front of the general admission bleachers, so they had an easier time seeing the penguins crossing the beach.

Each night the rangers count the number of penguins crossing the beach. We saw a sign at the Penguin Centre saying that last night's count had been 592. But honestly, knowing that the rangers counting them are armed only with binoculars, and seeing how the penguins come ashore in waves, it seems like it would be impossible to get an accurate count.

After watching several rafts come ashore, Jo led us back up to the boardwalks. This was the real payoff; we would get to walk inland alongside penguins using the trails below the boardwalk to return to their nests. They were adorable, and we got a very good look at those who were close to the boardwalk.

Some of them were obviously quite tired from their journey ashore. We witnessed one took a power nap. He fell asleep standing up in the middle of the trail. He didn't move for several minutes, until another group of penguins came up behind him and bounced off of him, prompting him back into action. It was adorable!

We saw fluffy juveniles who were waiting for their parents to come back from fishing in the ocean to feed them.

But the boardwalks were extremely crowded with people. Some people were taking photos even though they weren't supposed to. Some people were making noises which could scare the penguins. Some people were bumping into others. It was hard to stay with our group. We kept being separated. The radio earpieces didn't have good range, and Jo's voice kept breaking up. We felt crowded and rushed.

So we walked back to the Penguin Centre ourselves, meeting the rest of the group there. We returned to the back room, returned our radio headsets and binoculars, and retrieved our belongings. We stopped at the rest room (where Craig helped a woman in a wheelchair figure out how to use the automated door on the handicapped accessible rest room). We met David in the parking lot at 8 p.m. for the ride back to Melbourne.

The penguins were adorable, and the Little Penguin Bus experience was top notch. But the management of Penguin Parade could learn a thing or two about efficiency from the BridgeClimb Sydney people. If we had to do it again, we probably wouldn't do the ranger-led version. It was much more rigid in terms of timing, and there wasn't a whole lot of value added for the price. I can't even imagine what this place is like in the high season. I hope that they limit the number of visitors.

I dozed during the hour and forty five minute ride back to Melbourne. We arrived at the hotel before 9:45. We thanked David for the great service.

As luck would have it, Woolworth's bottle shop was still open. We walked down the block and soon Craig found himself staring at a wall of IPA's, having no idea what to choose. I noticed a pile of cardboard 8-pack holders with a sign encouraging you to mix and match an 8-pack. This was perfect! He chose all IPA's:

John Boston Session IPA
Colonial IPA
3 Ravens New World IPA
Kaiju Metamorphosis IPA
Gage Roads Sleeping Giant IPA
Stomping Ground Hop/s IPA
Hop Nation The Chop IPA

I got a 4-pack of Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider.

We went back to the room, enjoyed a couple of drinks, and went to bed.

Queen Victoria Gardens

Phillip Island