My 9900 Mile Dream Journey to Australia: Phillip Island

Sunday morning we went to the beach and then went to a new local cafe for lunch. Afterwards I went on a cruise to Seal Rocks about 50 minutes out of Cowes (a town on the island). Seal Rocks is home to Australia's largest population of fur seals. Roughly 5,000 seals are part of this colony.

On the way to Seal Rocks I sat inside on the bottom floor of the boat and fell asleep. I was startled awake by one of the crew members announcing something over the speakers. I decided I should probably go out to the front of the boat if I don't want to sleep through seeing the seals. So I grabbed my camera and went out front. Oh my was I missing out inside. The sunshine was perfect, the breeze was brilliant, and the view was so peaceful. I didn't leave the front of the boat for the rest of the cruise.

Cruising up to Seal Rocks it just looked like big, brownish blackish rocks... nothing exciting. Until we got a bit closer and could finally see that a lot of the brownish blackish color was actually seals resting on the rocks. And there was no mistaking that sound... their barking was very loud... except... it actually sounded more like a herd of sheep than barking dogs. And the smell... the smell had every potential to ruin the experience, but luckily after about 5-10 minutes, just like nail polish, the smell is no longer noticeable.

There were huge males, moms, and pups. Some had fur, others had a bit of fur, and others seemed to have none. Watching the swim in the water was my favorite bit because they jet around like torpedoes. They jump out of the water and dive back in effortlessly. And I love how they twist and turn under the surface looking absolutely carefree. Some of the seals seemed to be putting on a little show by laying on their side and just keeping 2 flippers out of the water or pushing each other in the water off the cliffs. I saw 2 males have short fight and got to see some moms caring for their pups. My favorite thing about the actual seals was their little ears. They were just too darn cute. It was kind of funny to watch them "walk" up and over the rocks and other seals. It looked extremely difficult, uncoordinated and like it took every ounce of effort. Also, the rocks the seals are living on were almost just as interesting as the seals themselves.