then, we got back in the bus and headed to the nobbies.

it was BEAUTIFUL!  it looks like what you see in travel magazines and on postcards of what the perfect beautiful location looks like.

phillips island is known for their "little penguins" or "fairy penguins."  they are the only penguins in the world that can be nocturnal.  the either hideout in their burrows or go out in the ocean fishing when it is light on.  this is because the big birds will eat them if they are out and about. :(

they come out at night, or walk in from the ocean and go back home in the night.

when we were at the nobbies we saw a few hiding under the walkways!

after the nobbies, we went to see the penguin parade.

we weren't allowed to take pictures because apparently the flash of your camera can shock them and make them die.  i didn't know that at the nobbies, hopefully those two little penguins are okay. :(

but it was SO CUTE!  a little after 6:30pm the penguins started parading out of the ocean.  LOTS OF THEM!  and they're so tiny!  1 foot tall and only we about 2.2 pounds.  they float in "rafts" in the ocean, which basically means in groups and they look like a raft.  you could see them coming in at the edge of the water.  then they would stand up and start to walk in, but get scared and waddle back really fast and jump in the ocean.  we learned that they are really scared to cross the white sandy beach to get to their burrows because it is the only place where they don't feel safe because they stand out so much.  so it usually took at least 3 attempts for each group of little penguins to finally cross the beach.  they stayed very close together in groups in the ocean and then crossed the beach in lines.  they make funny bird noises too and we got to see them walking around in their burrows.

it was SUCH an awesome day!!! :)