Just before Christmas we headed to the gorgeous Phillip Island for two really fun days with our friends. Phillip Island is about a two hour drive from both Melbourne and Wilsons Promontory National Park and absolutely stunning. There are not enough words to describe how lovely Australian beaches are and they are amazing all along to coast, but the ones in Phillip Island were truly special. I think it is a great spot for nature lovers and city kids looking for a quick getaway alike. There are even train connections from Melbourne, but they take about four hours so you might as well rent a car and head down on your own in almost half the time.
What to Do
You could just head to Phillip Island and spend all your time on the beaches of the island. They are gorgeous, all beaches are patrolled and once again: a great spot to surf. Anzac Beach was really pretty, but also quite busy. We spend an entire day at Berrys Beach, which was also really lovely.
If you are at Anzac Beach you can start the walk to the Pinnacles from here. It is such a nice, relaxed walk, but the scenery is absolutely insane. You see the structures in the sea, the deep cliffs and the gorgeous blues of the ocean and you are very likely to spot some wallabies in their natural surroundings. We did it at a very leisurely pace and it took us about an hour and a half. Because it is so relaxed, it may be one of my favourite walks I have taken in Australia.
Phillip Island is also famous for its penguins. There are generally active at night and you have to buy tickets to see them. Especially during peak tourist season you may want to book well in advance. It is not a Sea World type of situation, you just get to see them in their natural habitat. All of this happens at the Nobbies centre. You can obviously go by yourself during the day as well, as we did since we did not manage to get a hold of tickets. It was nesting season so we saw some penguin mammas in their nests completely for free, which was lovely. There is also a board walk taking you along the stunning coastline.
Where to Eat
Cheeky Goose is your picture book pub, serving all the classics like burgers and Fish´n´Chips, but also really nice Quinoa salads and Poke Bowls. They also have a really cool beer tasting rack and that comes from someone, who does not really like beer. It comes with cider and continuously gets stronger and darker. I think this is a great place for lunch, but their breakfast options also looked delicious.
Moving on to my favourite meal of the day: brunch. We actually head breakfast on Phillip Island on the 24th of December, which was a very different Christmas breakfast than what I am used to, but delicious nonetheless. We had breakfast at Mad Cows, I had Eggs Benedict and Tristan got the Eggs Florentine and both were so good just like the coffee! We were also recommended Northern Kantine, but did not have the chance to go.
