Phillip Island is known to be the home of the little penguins. With idyllic beaches, captivating coastlines, and family fun activities, there is so much to see. We started with breakfast at Cape Woolamai with nice views of the beach. Crisp blue ocean, nice swell and quite a few brave surfers and swimmers in the water. Next stop is the Chocolate Factory, where we’ve seen how they produce yummy chocolate, we’ve tasted quite a bit, we’ve made some chocolate ourselves and we finished observing a real-life chocolate waterfall. As we finally walked out the door, our oldest boy protested: “I wish this was my home”.

We went back to the van to get some rest, but clearly that was a bad idea – how can anyone rest with so much sugar in the blood system. We ended up attempting homeschooling, a dip in the swimming pool and a ping pong game. Before dusk we went to watch the Penguin Parade. Sitting on the beach front on the viewing platforms and watching tens of little penguins (i.e. the smallest species of penguin), cute as can be, marching out of the water and slowly making their way up the hill and back to their burrows where their chicks are waiting, starving for food. It was already dark and cold when these cute creatures showed up, and we followed them up the marked pathways and boardwalks to observe this amazing daily routine as they call out to their partners and babies. Eventually, we collected our own three little penguins and put them to bed.

The following day, we visited the Amaze’N’ Things, an exciting world of illusions, puzzles, mazes and more. It was so much fun and the kids loved it, with so many tricks for both kids and adults. No wonder we spent quite a few hours in there. The quote of the day from our children is: “There is excitement all over me”. Can’t argue with that…

Later on, italian food for lunch at the town Cowes and a walk around the promenade and jetty that led us to meet a seal who gave us an impressive show. Back in the caravan park, apparently the motorbike grand prix is on and the park is packed with motorbikers from all over the country who came to watch it. Just before bedtime, we’ve planned ahead and booked a ferry trip across the Tasman Sea to Tasmania for next week.

There’s still a lot more to see on Phillip Island. We spent the following morning in Nobbies – a stunning walk by the ocean, with views you cannot have enough of, rock formations, big waves, nature at its best. With our young and tired kids, we take the time and spend about half a day there, making the most of it, plus spotting a few more penguins in daylight. Around lunchtime, we depart this magical island and head off to the big city – Melbourne.