1-Day Tour around Phillip Island

A few weeks ago, and a few weeks after Nicole left, my other dear friend Kimberley came down under to visit me! :) I was really excited about her visit because not only would it mean I get to be a tour guide once more, but it also meant that I'd finally get to meet her after two solid years!!! Kim studied in the UK, and as such, given the conflicting times in our University holidays always found it hard to schedule a time to meet when we were both back in Singapore.

Kim stayed for a total of one week. Unlike Nicole's visit, our itinerary didn't involve as much food as it did sightseeing hahaha :') Well, food was definitely in the agenda but I didn't feel as bloated as I did when I was with Nic. Or maybe it's because I learnt my mistake the previous round and therefore controlled my meals better.

Today I wanted to share my experience with Bunyip Tours. Also as a disclaimer, this post isn't sponsored at all so whatever's shared hereon are genuine and true to what I feel :)

Kim wanted to touch some Kangaroos and Koalas. I mean after all, when you're in Australia, you have to touch a Koala and Kangaroo right? Right. So out of all the available Zoos in Melbourne, Healesville Sanctuary and the Moonlit Sanctuary are the only two places that allows you to do this. However, getting there from the city by public transport would take 6 hours altogether to and fro, plus Kim wasn't keen on being the sole driver there so we decided at looking at other options.

I'd heard of Bunyip Tours since I arrived Melbourne to study. It was part of the package by the University whilst they were advertising travelling around the state of Victoria. I'd never gotten around to signing up for any of their tours since because there never was a reason to, but I did this time!

Kim and I registered for the 1-Day Phillip Island Eco Tour. We chose to travel with Bunyip because it was the cheapest one we could find and it covered quite a few places too. Altogether, we covered five things:

1) The Moonlit Sanctuary

Quite possibly the highlight of the trip for us both. Here we managed to feed some Kangaroos and Wallabies that roamed around the park freely! We also managed to take a photo with their Koala, and Kim signed up to take a photo with their Dingoes as well. We had to pay a fee of $12 for the photo taking session with the Koala, and Kim paid an additional $20 for the photo with the Dingo.

The photo taking session was managed well in my opinion. Those with the tour group were given a different coloured lanyard for priority since we had to return to the Coach by a specific time. We were also provided with ample time to take as many photos with the Koala as we wanted. Well, so long as you don't take longer than usual such that you're hogging the queue :P Kim and I arrived there early to queue up too, so we were third in the line (Singaporean spirit through and through).

The only issue I had was with the enthusiasm levels of their Koalas hahaha! You will see here that they the one we took a picture with looked pretty grumpy. The keeper said it was his nap time and that he was feeling slightly sleepy. Well, considering how they do sleep 22/24 hours in a day it should be normal behaviour...

This photo cracks me up :') Mr Grumps was apparently getting really sleepy. Still many others in the queue Mr Grumps!!

Feeding a Kangaroo!! :)

It was pretty difficult to get the Kangaroos to come up to you to feed. Visitors were only allowed to walk through a certain path, so you were only allowed to feed the Wallabies and Kangaroos that came up to you. The Wallabies were situated pretty much all over the face but the Kangaroos on the other hand were bumming around within the trees. Something like this...

#BOSS!
Image Credits: Pinterest

A cute lil Wallaby :)

This tiny baby was so precious.

Kim and her dingoes.

An inside joke between myself, Kim and Nic when they were here was that I was going to feed them to the dingoes when they came. I failed in getting Nic to meet a Dingo, but Kim did and unfortunately was too happy to be around them for my plan to have been successful hahahahaha.

We spent about two and a half hours at the Sanctuary. Lunch (a small BBQ) was provided for us before we made our way to our next destination.

2) Churchill Island

Churchill Island was an Island off the coast of Phillip Island in Victoria and holds an important value in terms of marking the Europeans first settlement in the state. Here we were able to watch sheep shearing live, touch some farm animals as well as enjoy the beautiful view the island had to offer. To be completely honest with you, I spent most of my time just admiring the view in front of me and wishing how beautiful a life it must be to live amongst mother nature.

Such a breathtaking view :)

We took too many selfies here :P

Really do love horses :)

Gobble Gobble

Look Ma! I milked a cow hahaha.

Some light refreshments were provided here. We stayed here for close to two hours if my memory doesn't fail me. Time really flew by!!

3) Koala Conservatory

We then drove down to Phillip Island itself! We made a quick stop over to the Conservatory to spot some Koalas :) This was a very quick stop that took about 45 minutes. 

Told you all they did was sleep!!!

Fun fact! Have you heard of the drop bear?

YIKES!!

Well, I only heard about it come this year when my friend shared a post on Facebook. I thought it sounded like candy, but when I googled it was in for quite a rude shock. 

Firstly, it looks like a photoshopped Koala. Second, even the Tasmanian devil doesn't look as deadly. And finally, the facts about who it attacks just seems like a troll. But, I am not one to not believe that there's a slight chance it may be true. 

Anyway, I asked our tour guide and he told me that it was a fake fact made up by some Aussie blokes who just wanted to scare some tourists. Phew!  Or at least, I'd like to think it's made up. A small part of me still thinks its true hahaha. 

4) The Nobbies

Before heading down for the Penguin Parade (the main star and attraction of Phillip Island), we headed to the Nobbies to view the scenery. I don't quite remember what the significance and highlight was at the Nobbies, but I'm aware that here you can see spot some penguins if you're lucky. It was pretty interesting as well because Phillip Island was declared a natural park by the Australian Government seeing as how it was the home to so many penguins. They built some man made boxes in the hills to attract penguins to build their burrows and homes there. It was quite a sight to see :) The tiny penguins we saw during the parade later on were making their way back home to these burrows after having spent the entire day hunting for food.

Our tour guide spotted a Penguin under the boardwalk and managed to snap this picture with my phone!

Peaceful :)

5) Penguin Parade

The last stop for the day was the much anticipated Penguin Parade :) We weren't allowed to take pictures during the parade because the flashes would affect the eyesight of the penguins and this would ultimately prevent them from feeding their young when they returned home. I was so frustrated by the tourists who simply refused to heed to these rules. Seriously, idiots who don't understand rules should cease to exist.

I wish I could have taken photos or at least begin to describe what an experience it was to have seen the penguins come up in groups and waddle their way up the path to return home. Some were like drunk little things, falling down every once in a while or just seeming lost. I really enjoyed the parade despite it being my second time there. I think I learnt a lot more this time round.

After the parade, we headed back to the Coach and then drove back to the city. It was a good day :)

***

Overall, my experience with Bunyip was definitely extraordinary. I enjoyed myself immensely, and here are the reasons why:

1) We had a GREAT tour guide.

They say you can't choose your tour guides, but at the same time I don't think your tour guides can choose who's in their tours too. Our tour guide Jeremy was from Tasmania, and I really enjoyed his knowledge on the places we visited. Not only was he friendly, but he was clear in his instructions on the times we had to assemble back and gave us a comprehensive background on the places we were visiting. We never took a photo with him, it was quite a shame it slipped our minds! :(

2) Duration of time at each site was allotted well.

I was quite hesitant originally because they promised quite a few places within a short period of time. We assembled at the meet up point at about 10am that morning and arrived the city by 9pm at night. Coupled with the traveling time to Phillip Island, I didn't think we'd be able to fully explore the places that they promised to bring us to.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), I thought they allocated the duration at each scenic spot really well. There was ample time to roam around and go to the ladies as well. I didn't think it was too rushed or too slow, everything was done very well :)

3) Booking online was hassle-free.

Kim and I only decided on the tour two days beforehand. It was a Friday when we decided to go for the tour, and all I had to do was go to their website and make my reservations for our specific tour. It was done in a few minutes. If you have dietary requirements (I did - vegetarian) you included it during your booking and they'll settle it for you on the day itself. As long as there are still slots available, they'll put you in their tour :)

I definitely enjoyed my time with Bunyip Tours. I think, for the first time since Kim and Nicole's visit, I was finally able to relax and behave like a tourist too! I think a large part of it had to do with me not needing to worry about catching the right train and getting off at the right stop. All I had to do was leave everything to Jeremy and we'd arrive at our destination. All I needed to worry about was reaching the Coach on time.

I'm definitely going to consider Bunyip Tours once more if I ever decide on going for a tour again in the future! I see a trip to the Wilson's Prom coming up soon (hopefully) :)

Have any of you been on a tour with Bunyip Tours before? Or have you ever visited Phillip Island? I'd love to know! xx