Phillip Island Wildlife Tour

The International Sociological Association organized a Phillip Island Wildlife Tour on June 29, 2023, for participants in the World Congress of Sociology. The full-day tour for a bus-load of sociologists included visits to Melbourne’s iconic Brighton Beach bathing boxes, the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, and Phillip Island.

Dating from the early 1900s, the 82 brightly colored wooden huts known as the Brighton Bathing Boxes line a section of Melbourne’s Brighton Beach. They are privately owned and apparently expensive to buy.

The next stop on the tour was the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, where we got to see wombats, kangaroos, koala bears, wallabies, a Tasmanian Devil, and dingos (wild dogs).

Kangaroos: 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at how Skippy (that’s what Australians call kangaroos) is clutching the arm of the woman feeding her. Not bashful.

 

 

Koala bears eating eucalyptus leaves:

 

Sleeping koala bears:

Wallabies:

 Here’s what the Tasmanian Devil looks like in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

And here’s the real-life Tasmanian Devil (named Ronald) at the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park:

The sanctuary also included dingos (Australian wild dogs).

Phillip Island is famous for the nightly roosting of hundreds of little penguins at Summerland Beach, the so-called Penguin Parade. Just after dark every night, the penguins waddle ashore after spending the day fishing out at sea. We weren’t allowed to take pictures because the light from the flash disturbs the penguins, but believe me, it was a pretty amazing sight. You can see authorized photos here.

Phillip Island also boasts some pretty dramatic coastline.