Australia Independent Travel | Melbourne Day Trips | Phillip Island Day Tour | Brighton Bathing Boxes | Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park | Penguin Parade | Go West Tours
The Penguin Parade, also known as the penguins' return to their burrows, is Melbourne's most famous tour, and just about every tour group coming to Melbourne includes it in the itinerary. I actually visited once as a child, but I was so young back then that I don't really remember what it was like. Now that I had the chance to come to Melbourne again, I decided to see the Penguin Parade one more time.
To watch the Penguin Parade, you need to go to the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre on Phillip Island. It's about a two-hour drive one way from Melbourne. Most people choose to self-drive so they can stop at attractions along the way, but since the penguin viewing doesn't finish until close to 10 pm, driving back to central Melbourne makes for a very late night. You might consider staying nearby, or just joining a day tour like we did!
Penguin Parade Visitor Centre
- Address: 1019 Ventnor Rd, Summerlands VIC 3922
- Opening hours: 16:00–22:00
🗺 Phillip Island Day Tour
The tour we joined was, again, booked through KKday — a Go West Tour itinerary. Booking is quite simple: after purchasing, you'll receive a confirmation email from Go West Tour, and from then on you can contact them directly by email for anything you need. Generally, though, no extra contact is needed before departure — just show up at the designated meeting point at the designated time.
There are many different combinations of tours for seeing the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island. Since the penguins only come back in the evening, the afternoon is usually paired with various nearby attractions to make up a full day trip.
This is the combination we chose:
- Brighton Bathing Boxes
- Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park
- Phillip Island Nobbies Centre
- Penguin Parade
🌈 Brighton Bathing Boxes
About half an hour's drive from central Melbourne, our first stop was the Brighton Bathing Boxes, popularly known in Chinese as the "rainbow huts." When I was researching before the trip, the photos looked so pretty and photogenic that I wondered whether I should join a tour or come out here on my own to have more time. But after actually visiting, I realized you don't really need to stay long — luckily we went with the tour in the end 🤣
Brighton Bathing Boxes
- Address: Esplanade, Brighton VIC 3186
- Getting there: Take the train from central Melbourne to Middle Brighton Station, then walk to the beach
The Brighton Bathing Boxes were first built in 1860, mainly rented out to locals as storage sheds or changing rooms. Each box has its own painted design and pattern, and over time the spot has become a well-known tourist attraction. According to our guide, these boxes can be purchased today by residents of this area — or this state (I can't quite remember which) — and some are currently on the market, though the prices are far from cheap.
The weather was fantastic the day we visited, so the beach was packed with people sunbathing on the sand or playing in the water.
And because it was such perfect holiday weather, we got to see a few boxes with their owners present and the doors open. The interiors are very basic — no water, no electricity — so they can really only serve as changing rooms or rest spots for a beach day. You'd probably have to be both a frequent beachgoer and quite wealthy to want to buy one.
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| Inside a Brighton Bathing Box |
🦘 Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park was established in 1998 and opened to the public in 2001. It's home to native Australian animals found within the sanctuary and is dedicated to the recovery of threatened Australian species. Although the park isn't very large, its open layout lets you see native koalas and wombats, and you can even buy food in the kangaroo area to feed the kangaroos!
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
- Address: 550 Tyabb-Tooradin Rd, Pearcedale VIC 3912
- Opening hours: 09:30–16:00
- Official website: https://moonlitsanctuary.com.au/
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| Ticket prices |
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| A koala that looks like it just woke up and is still dazed |
It's nearly an hour's drive from the Brighton Bathing Boxes, and we stayed here for about an hour — plenty of time to look at the animals and feed the kangaroos. However, since we arrived around midday and the weather was really hot and sunny, the kangaroos were all sleeping or lazing about...
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| A rather buff kangaroo |
After walking back and forth around the park, we found that not a single kangaroo was interested in the feed we'd bought... and with the heat, we were about to give up when the kangaroos slowly started coming out to eat visitors' food. Maybe that was finally mealtime? A box of kangaroo feed costs AUD 3 and contains a mix of dry pellets and corn kernels — we noticed the kangaroos don't really like the corn and even pick it out 🤣
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| Kangaroo: it's so hot out here |
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| A wallaby of a different species |
🦭 Phillip Island Nobbies Centre
After leaving Moonlit Sanctuary, another hour's drive brings you to Phillip Island! Phillip Island is Victoria's second-largest island, connected to the mainland by a bridge. Because it's the main habitat of the little (fairy) penguins, it's also known as Penguin Island, and it was the main destination of our tour.
Before heading off for dinner and the Penguin Parade, our first stop on Phillip Island was the Nobbies Ocean Discovery Centre, also known as the Seal Rocks marine life centre. From here you can look out toward Seal Rocks, where many seals are said to gather on the rocks; there are also tours that go out to sea specifically to see the seals.
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| Seal Rocks is quite far away, so actually spotting seals is genuinely difficult... |
It's very windy here, and besides the sweeping, beautiful scenery, the more interesting part is that you can spot little penguins under the boardwalk or in the small burrows alongside it.
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| A penguin we spotted hiding under the boardwalk |
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| Little penguins tucked into burrows and under the boardwalk |
🐧 Penguin Parade
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| Since photography isn't allowed, this photo is from the official website: https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/ |
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| Not exactly cheap ticket prices |
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| Yesterday's penguin count, arrival time, and today's predicted time |
By the time the whole tour finished and we got back to central Melbourne, it was nearly midnight. Fortunately the tour drops you off near your designated hotel, and central Melbourne is reasonably safe, so it felt fine. That said, it poured with rain on the way back and it was very dark — self-driving could be a bit dangerous if you don't know the roads. If you're not planning to stay a night on Phillip Island, joining a day tour might be the easier, more comfortable option.
If you're visiting Melbourne, don't miss this classic little penguin parade — it's a sight you'd be hard-pressed to see anywhere else!
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