(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) We huddled excitedly around a willowy eucalyptus tree like schoolchildren, craning our necks to catch a glimpse of the koala that was scurrying up the knobby trunk.
The onslaught of cameras, and the collective 'oohing' and 'aahing' from a noisy audience had sent the poor creature rushing up to a vantage point. From there, it peeped down occasionally, probably to check if its tormentors had left.
But of course we hadn't. Nor were we going to until we'd leveraged the photo opportunity provided to get some 'tweetable' snaps. Though there were plenty of other koalas at the Koala Conservation Centre in Phillip Island, south Australia, that sunny autumnal afternoon, this one seemed to be the only one up and about, the others either perched on treetops or snoozing.
Then suddenly a miracle happened. Our koala slid down from its hiding place, and started walking on a fallen tree trunk lying horizontally between two trees. This was the moment we'd been waiting for! The air resonated with the whirr of cameras as we shot with paparazzi-like fervour. Strutting its stuff on the tree trunk like a model, the koala walked posed for about 90 seconds before leaping onto the other tree where his family was waiting. And that's how we got the prized shots we were waiting for!
"You guys are so lucky," exclaimed Tessa McLachlan, our affable guide, as the koala receded into the bushland. "These animals are really shy and seldom emerge in the open when there are visitors. And they most certainly don't come out to pose like they did today!"
Phillip Island, located 124 km south of Melbourne, the capital city of the southern state of Victoria, presented me with a myriad exciting wildlife encounters during a recent trip. The region's natural bush, rich wetlands and a stunning coastline host some of the world's most unique species of penguins, fur seals, kangaroos, wallabies, possums, echidnas and snakes, to name a few.
"The 10,000-hectare island - of mostly open and flat countryside - makes wildlife viewing a treat," Tessa elaborated. It's no wonder that the island of a mere 5,500 residents welcomes over 3.5 million visitors annually, making it the single most popular tourist destination in Australia.
However, for koala lovers, the Conservation Centre is the place to be. The beautiful natural wetland - outfitted with treetop boardwalks and visitor-friendly viewing areas - allows close interaction with these delightful creatures. On a lucky day, one can even catch a glimpse of the koala joeys as they take their first adventure out of the mother's pouch to learn to climb, find food and meet others. A large hall features a permanent photo exhibition about these interesting animals, outlining their traits, diet and habitat.
"Apart from promoting koala conservation, this ecotourism attraction has also helped grow Phillip Island's koala population from a few hundred to over 6,000" Tessa added.
Though the koalas are a big hit at Phillip Island, they aren't its most popular wildlife attraction. That honour belongs to the 'fairy' penguins at Summerland Beach at the Phillip Island Nature Park. Here, every evening, a colony of 32,000 penguins make their way back from the ocean to their burrows in the sand dunes is what is famously known as the Penguin's Parade.
The animals leave their burrows about an hour before sunrise each day and swim up to 100 kilometres to catch food (mostly pilchards and other small fish) for themselves and their young, before returning at dusk to Phillip Island for nesting. They come back in 'rafts' (groups, sometimes only a few, sometimes dozens). The eggs take about six weeks to hatch with the chicks remaining in the nest for two months.
At about a foot tall, Fairy Penguins (Eudyptula Minor) are a species native to southern Australia and are the smallest of 17 penguin species (the largest being Antarctica's famed Emperor Penguins which measures 122 centimetres). The creatures possess waterproof feathers and are most plentiful in summer when they are rearing their young. According to legend, some 65 million years ago, these penguins had traded their wings for flippers in exchange for the ability to traverse the sea.
We got to the beach at night to find a star-spangled sky above with the oceanic roar below. There was excitement all around as hundreds of people had flocked to witness the penguin parade, or the animals' nightly march (as some call it), aided only by the light of the moon and the stars. Concrete amphitheatres - resembling a football stadium with multiple viewing positions - were actually set up and can seat up to 4,000 visitors.
It is quite an event, really, with over 1,100 penguins drifting home from the ocean the night we attended. A titter of excitement filled the air as the first group of penguins trotted onto the beach. More arrived soon, and then some more till the entire beach seemed to be filled with these wet creatures and started resembling a black and white mobile carpet! Designated walkways and boardwalks ensured that visitors stayed away from the penguin area so that the birds could move about freely without being harmed. Furthermore, rangers patrolled the area, making sure visitors did not use the flash option in their cameras or phones; sometimes the flash could actually blind the penguins.
Not far from the Penguin Parade, at the far Southwestern tip of Phillip Island, is Seal Rocks - one of the largest seal colonies in Australia and home to over 16,000 of these lazy creatures. "Their numbers swell during the October to December, their breeding season, and that's when one can watch them sun themselves on the rocks, feed their young, wrestle, or flop into the cool water," the guide informed us.
To get up close and personal with the seals, I took a cruise the next day to Seal Rocks. Though the weather was funereal, and the sea choppy, the lure of a marine adventure was too hard to resist. I climbed into a jetty packed with about 20 people and strapped on my life jacket. "Make sure you're really secure - the captain makes the boat fly!" my neighbour warned.
And boy, did that boat fly! The vessel moved over water like a seaplane during our 90-minute excursion! We hung on for dear life, clutching our seats, and kept our eyes tightly shut. But alas, when we got to the rocks, there was disappointment in store. There was no sign of the seals! Apparently, due to inclement weather, they remained cosseted between rocks and didn't emerge from their hideouts. Dejected as we were, we derived succour from the fact that we'd at least got our adrenalin fix from the captain's daredevilry! It was more than enough adventure for the day.
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