Penguin Parade, Island hopping, & Melbourne
- naomibowles
- May 5
- 3 min read
Raymond Island
After a five hour drive down from Narooma, we made a detour to Raymond Island, famous for its population of wild koalas hidden amongst the trees. A quick two minute ferry ride later, we were wandering the quiet streets hoping to spot one.
Before long, we heard rustling in the branches across the road. Excited, we crept closer - only to hear “Grr, I’m a drop bear.” Looking up, we found a guy halfway up the tree. Naturally.
Thankfully, he wasn’t just a rogue tree-dweller; He was actually trying to get a better view of a real koala and kindly pointed us in the right direction. Once we knew what we were looking for, they were everywhere. With torches aimed into the canopy, we spotted four or five koalas lazily munching on eucalyptus leaves, completely unbothered by our presence. As a bonus, we also came across a few kangaroos, including a tiny joey bouncing around in the grass.
Three more hours on the road brought us to our first (slightly illegal) overnight stop - a beachside car park where we put our new battery setup to the test. Not exactly five star accommodation, but it did the job.
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Phillip & Churchill Island
The next morning, we headed to Phillip Island for one reason and one reason only: penguins.
The island is home to the world’s smallest penguin species, standing at just about a foot tall. Watching them emerge from the water was pure magic. They gathered at the shoreline, waiting for their friends before waddling up the beach in little groups, as if sticking to a carefully coordinated plan. We even followed a couple along the boardwalk as they shuffled home.
With another day to explore, we visited Churchill Island, a historic farm where you can wander at your own pace and spend some time with the animals.
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Melbourne
From there, it was on to Melbourne. After a quick turnaround at the caravan park, we headed straight out to Werribee Open Range Zoo for a safari experience.
We hadn’t expected to get this close to African wildlife in Australia, but we weren’t complaining. Even better, our tour (usually run with around 20 people) ended up being just us and one other couple, making it feel even more personal.
The highlight? The giraffes.
Completely unbothered by our presence, they casually blocked the road as we tried to edge past. At one point, we were warned they have a habit of licking the roof of the truck... something we were both intrigued and slightly concerned to witness.
Further along, we passed herds of zebra, ostriches, rhinos and more, all roaming freely across the open landscape. It felt far removed from a typical zoo visit.
Our first real “city” experience of the trip came that evening at the Athenaeum Theatre, where we saw Hamlet, but not as Shakespeare intended...
This was a performance by the company ‘Shit-Faced Shakespeare’, where a cast of classically trained actors attempt to perform the play while one member is, for lack of a better explanation, shit-faced. What followed was chaotic and absolutely hilarious. Very little actual Shakespeare was performed, but honestly that might have been for the best.
We continued our immersion into city life with an A-League match between Melbourne City and Wellington at Melbourne’s Olympic Park, followed by a night at the Comedy Club watching Australian comedian Luke Kidgell.
The next morning, slightly worse for wear, Naomi decided her laptop was looking a little thirsty, so emptied an entire cup of coffee over it.
Our final day was spent rushing around the city trying to find someone who could bring it back to life. It survived… technically, but it’s still a bit sticky, and makes a faint crunching sound every time the shift key is pressed. A fittingly momento to remember our chaotic time in Melbourne.
(Photo taken before laptop spillage)
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