Phillip Island was the next port of call on our East Coast trip. In fact it is pretty southernly, so probably signaled the end of the East Coast.

We camped the night prior in the nearby town of Wonthaggi. Coalfields was the campsite. Full of bungalows, cabins and static caravans, our van and tents looked a little out of place. The fairy lights improved our appearance though. After showers and some chicken kebabs, the temperature started to drop. So much so that our hoodies came out and at one point the eight of us were huddled up in the van. Add some goon and you’ve got yourself a van party! The highlight of the party was Luke breaking out his temporary tattoos that he had bought for us all. We each pulled a body part out of a hat and that is where it had to go. No washing off allowed.

The girls had reliably informed us that there were some must see penguins on Phillip Island, as well as some may as well see attractions. Anxious not to miss out we headed straight for the visitor centre in the morning to buy our tickets at 20 bucks a head. Realising it finished pretty late we also booked a campsite on the Island. Some of us went to the may as well see attractions and a couple set up camp. This turned out to be pretty convienient as it made it easy to pretend only five of us were staying there.

After that Ash and I wondered around the town before accepting there was no free wifi on Phillip Island. Most of the cafes were shutting any way due to ‘extreme weather’. To be fair it was getting pretty hot, so we had a dip in the pool and hit the beach for some skim boarding.

Before long it was time to see some penguins. Apparently they are the smallest species of penguin in the world. They were small, and I have to accept, quite cute. We arrived an hour and a half before they were due to come out of the sea in order to get the good seats. In hindsight this was unnecessary as the punters in the good seats left after they had seen the first few penguins, so we could have arrived ten minutes late and seen loads of the little birds. Although that would have meant missing Tom the ranger’s triumphant speech, and his mike cutting out three times. Unlucky Tom! Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photographs as even the sound can scare the birds. I didn’t believe that, and neither did Ash, so we took a few pics. They didn’t really turn out so I had to settle for a picture with a big penguin.

It was still hot when we got back to camp, and I kind of regretted tarping up our tent. It was supposed to reflect the morning sun and keep out any rain. Instead in insulated Luke and I on the joint hottest night on record, in the world, ever! Fact.

To wash away the sweaty nights sleep Ash, Carolyn and I went for a morning session jumping off the pier. Luke was also kind enough to come along as photographer. It was an excellent morning to end a pretty sweet Phillip Island experience.