Nov 2025 – The Phenomenal Phillip Island Penguin Parade

Written by Kim

Our morning started off a bit exciting as we were greeted by Roos leaving Mallacoota. We left early and stores don’t open early so we had a gourmet breakfast in the car we bought last night at the grocery store.

We had a 6-7 hour drive ahead of us. Unfortunately, our drive was rain about half of the drive. We went in and out of rain storms through pretty quiet areas with a small village once in a while.

We arrived at our hotel, Kamala Resort, around 3 and rested a bit. We knew we wanted to do the Penguin Parade at sunset but weren’t sure which day would have better weather. After checking radar, we decided tonight is the night. It will be cool – mid 60s but rain should hold off. We realized we should have booked tickets in advance we didn’t realize what a big deal the parade is. Anyhow, we decided to splurge a little for the small group, Ultimate Adventure package that was about $80 USD per person. In retrospect, this was a great decision as the experience was amazing. We met our group of 12 and guide at 7:45 to begin our tour. As we arrived we saw the thousands of people with general admission tickets assembling. They seat approximately 2,500 per night to watch the parade.

Phillip Island is actually home to the largest little penguin colony in the world. The Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known as the Fairy Penguin, is the smallest species of penguin, typically measuring about 30 to 33 centimeters in height and weighing approximately 1 kilogram. Distinguished by their blue-gray plumage and white underparts to disguise them from predators, Little Penguins possess a streamlined body adapted for efficient swimming. Native to the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, these birds are marine foragers primarily feeding on small fish, squid, and crustaceans.  It’s estimated that around 40,000 breeding pairs call the island home.  

Our tour walked us through the fields of burrows to the beach where we would sit in the dark on the sand and wait for the parade. It is interesting that the penguins distinction was threatened. In 1985, the Victorian government announced that it would purchase all 774 allotments on the Summerland Peninsula to protect the penguin colony, setting up the “Summerland Estate Buy-Back Programme”. The buyback was completed in 2007 costing over $10 million. The houses and infrastructure were removed so the penguins could inhabit the land. I don’t think you’d ever see something like this in the US.

We are here during breeding season so the penguins are busy tending to their chicks.  After mating, females lay two eggs, usually between September and November. Incubation lasts around 35 days, with both parents sharing duties.  The chicks fledge in 6-8 weeks when the parents stop feeding them. After fledging, the penguin will spend 12-18 months in the water prior to returning to land. When they return to nest they will create a burrow with 40 meters of where they were born.

Every evening, the fascinating phenomenon known as the Penguin Parade takes place on Phillip Island, where hundreds of little penguins emerge from the ocean and waddle across the beach to their nesting sites.  They arrive in groups called rafts.  This event is an essential part of their lifecycle, as the penguins return to their burrows to feed their chicks or rest after a day spent foraging at sea. No photos or video are allowed during the parade but here’s a few stock photos I got from the website.

We also found You Tube that shows the experience if you want to see more. It was an awesome sight to see. The penguins walked up the beach about 5 feet from us and a few stopped to take a look at us. The guide told us they can see and hear us so we sat still and quietly. On our walk back from the beach there were penguins everywhere making their way to their burrows so we carefully walked giving them the right of way where needed.

https://youtu.be/aMmcFRWRJ8E?si=-1jXLJoZIpKynpLp

This was one of the best tours we’ve ever done. You can see by the joy in our faces on the first photo I shared. Not sure what we can do today to top this!