About 140 km southeast of Melbourne is a renowned island we seldom visit. It might have once been a stand alone isle, but these days Phillip Island is firmly connected to mainland Australia by a 640 m concrete bridge. Its northern shores face the shallow waters of Western Port, and its southern side faces Bass Strait with a rugged coast line.
Ask any Melbournian what is special about Phillip Island, and they’ll tell you the Grand Prix Circuit, and Penguin Parade, neither of which we were particularly interested in. You see, we are not petrol heads. The thought of watching race cars or superbikes going round and round a track does not inspire us. As for the little penguins, we love them but see them while sailing to the Bass Strait Islands and we don’t have to share them with crowds nor pay for the privilege.
So why a visit to Phillip Island? We were very lucky to have been offered by friends Craig and Fleur the use of their beautiful holiday house with a wonderful view of the ocean. With the weather not right for sailing, we grabbed the opportunity to explore somewhere different.
We enjoyed 3 days of relaxation, beach walks, a bit of surfing in ordinary waves, and of course there were lots of photo opportunities. The gallery will give you a taste of what we saw – plenty of wildlife, stunning coastline, and not a V8 supercar in sight!
Sv-Anui 
Lovely! Didn’t by chance surf Cat Bay did you? I am listed as SICYC (Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club) Vice Commodore of Cat Bay.Cheers Trish
Went there, but no surf,in fact not much surf anywhere!
I am a petrol head but I think I would have spent the time like you exploring 🙂 I would love to see those penguins though!! I have to share this with my dad as I know he and mum visited the island a lot when they lived there 🙂
Hi Sarah – thanks for the share! Penguins are so cute. We see them regularly surfacing like little ducks at sea, and on remote island they sometimes land and waddle up rocky slabs after dark!
Oh I really would love to see them! They’re world famous on Phillip Island of course I would much prefer to watch them from a boat on other little islands like you have been doing!
Oh my gosh, looks like fun! I can’t believe you see penguins surfacing frequently, what a thing to see! My youngest would go nuts. It reminds me of our coastline a bit, rugged with the awesome sea stacks towering in the ocean. What a beautiful place to spend some time. Lucky you. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Carrie for the comments. The penguins are fun!
Great photos Chris and such a lovely place to chill out. Some good surf fishing to be had as well.
Hi Henry, I bet the fishing is good off the rock ledges too, though the surf would be a bit risky!
What a great place to visit, glad you had such a good time. Love the wildness of the scenery
Hi Sue. Yes the southern coast was spectacular.
With such ruggedness there is good reason when cruising past to keep a safe distance off shore. Great photos as always. So Wade really can surf. I thought he was pulling my leg. Lol
Wade has been surfing for years… You just haven’t seen him and I haven’t photographed him before! Although the waves were a bit small and poxy last weekend!
Looks awesome! Love your surfing photos, btw!!
The surfing wasn’t wonderful but a bit of fun.