Penguin Island was the venue for the next installment of my
adventure. A ferry runs regular excursions
to the island along with mini cruises to see the Sealions and Dolphins.
We took the Penguin and Sealion cruise which takes a look at a couple of
smaller islands before reaching the final destination Penguin Island.
The tour last for approximately 45mins and provides close
views of Sealions. These magnificent animas were basking in the sun on a small
beach. They are obviously used to the tour boats as there was a degree of
showmanship as the males took up poses as the boat approached!
The wild Little penguins are in moult at the moment which
means they are confined to quarters until this process is complete. The best
chance of seeing one was around the boardwalks on the main island. Despite a
search none were located on this visit.
There is a scheduled feeding time for the rescue penguins
which features the longest serving resident Kevin who isn’t shy in keeping the
new arrivals in place! He is quite a character insisting on being hand fed.
Unfortunately some of the residents will not be able to be released back into
the wild but this prospect did not phase Kevin one bit!
The bonus element to this boat trip was a couple of pods of
dolphin one swimming under the glass bottomed boat. Views were within close
proximity of the boat. No showboating going on here then!
A pair of Osprey had taken up residence on the smallest
island. This pair nesting annually and keeping watch over the group of islands.
Pelicans were also a feature of the islands with several
groups seen both on land and in flight.
A small Greater Crested Tern colony was present many
individuals roosting on the beach.
Bridled Tern was the most numerous Tern that nest on the
islands. They were totally habituated and you had to stay vigilant so that you
did not literally bump into one on the boardwalks.
A single Pied Oystercatcher was noted with the sealions but no
Black Oystercatcher was seen.
A Darter saw us off on our return trip to Australia (as
described by the staff!). Another great trip which is well worth the visit.
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