Whilst we were at the zoo we kept on the lookout for paid farmwork to complete the remainder of our agricultural days for our visa. Unfortunately though the surrounding areas of Shepparton and Benalla had nothing at all, so we reverted back to plan A, which was to head up to Mildura in Northern Victoria. In our hostel in Cairns we had met a guy called James who had told us about Mansfield Zoo but who also had completed his farm days at a working hostel in Mildura called Stopover. He had given us the owner's number, but at the time they still had no work. We kept in touch with Craig though and after our stint at the zoo he told us to head up there in a weeks time as work positions were opening up. We headed back to Melbourne to relax for a few days beforehand and took the opportunity to visit the penguins on Phillip Island! Phillip Island, often nicknamed Penguin Island, is one of the top attractions in Australia with hundreds of thousands of nature-lovers coming each year to witness the penguins' daily ritual as they return from a busy day at sea to their burrows on the island's nature reserve. Lise was particularly excited as we both count penguins amongst our favourite animals! And the day certainly didn't disappoint... Setting off from Melbourne in the afternoon it was a couple of hours drive to our first stop - a Koala Park just out of Phillip Island. We had never seen koalas up so close, and were at home walking around feeding the resident kangaroos just as we had at the zoo. We also saw Tasmanian Devils for the first time, and more dingos - although none could compare to Angel.

Next up we were off to the Penguin Parade! The penguins usually arrive back around sunset so the half hour before we were set up on the grandstands on the beach, the perfect viewpoint, waiting for their arrival. Its often bitterly cold sat there with the wind coming in straight off the ocean, even in summer, but we had got lucky with the weather and it was a gorgeous, warm, clear evening - not what we had planned for with all our blankets and layers! We kept an eye out for dark patches floating on the water as each wave came in - and slowly they appeared, one big group at a time. The penguins here are the smallest in the world - called the Little Blues - and are a little nervous to say the least! So each time a group came in they would cautiously wait at the start of the beach, before the sound of a seagull or a crashing wave would send them into a desperate retreat into the water. A couple of times one penguin would make it ahead of the group before looking around for his friends, realising he was on his own, and then turning tail and heading back into the ocean with a frantic waddle!

This went on for quite a while before slowly one group at a time the penguins ventured across the beach, freezing at every sight of a roaming seagull, before they eventually made it between the grandstand and into the long grass and their burrows. After watching most of the groups cross the beach we strolled along the boardwalks for the closest view of the penguins, as they waited at the entrance to their burrow calling out for their mate, and paraded along the walkway in the least graceful but most hilarious way. The young ones raced ahead before falling over their own feet, whilsts the ones carrying more weight lagged behind and rolled around on their bellies.

It was pitch black when we headed back to the bus but we'd had a great day, and ticked off the first thing on our list of must-dos for our time in Australia. The only disappointment for Lise was that she wasn't allowed to take one of the penguins home with her!