Penguin Island – Perth (March 2014)

This was one of our favourite days of the trip! Jah was so amazed by his time at what he calls “Happy Feet” Island that he talked non-stop about it in the coming days and even when we were back in Singapore.

Penguin Island is just a 5 minutes ferry ride from the ‘mainland’. Tickets can be purchased at Rockingham Wild Encouters and you could spend your time at their adjoining Pengos café while waiting for your ferry which departs hourly. Tip – You could also takeaway some fries and snacks from the café to occupy the kids on the ferry or to eat on the island. Do note that there are no F&B outlets/ kiosks on the island. Jah was very excited that he was going to get to ride a boat to visit Happy Feet at his house. :p

The path leading us to our ferry

Bella’s first ferry ride

As we decided to take the 45 minutes Penguin & Sea Lion cruise (Glass bottom boat), we were transferred onto another boat once we docked at Penguin Island. We are lucky that our ferry arrival coincided with a tour departure time so it was a seamless experience. We came up close to sealions lounging on the shore and were lucky enough to have them swim alongside our boat. Although we didn’t get to spot any penguins in the ‘wild’, it was still a very fun experience for the adults and the little boy. The kids were even allowed to go up to the Captain’ seat to take a picture! Talk about engaging the little ones! 🙂 Oh and the food we packed from the café came in very handy during the 45 minutes, something for the kids to munch on always helps!

Playful sealions

Swimming alongside us..nature!

Captain Elijah – very serious about his work

After our cruise, we headed over to the Penguin enclosure where Jah was absolutely ecstatic to meet his Happy Feet friends. He even recognized some of the different penguin types from the show. The enclosure was really a very small dome but it was interesting enough for a little boy to want to walk in and out of it and revisit his friends over and over again.

Visiting his Happy Feet friends

Which penguin are you?

Penguin Island is actually a pretty big island where families can hang out and have a picnic or go hiking on any one of the island’s trails. We decided to head in a random direction which took us down some stairs, onto a sandy beach, up and over some hills and out into a fantastic view of the roaring ocean. (Be prepared to walk/ climb stairs, though the nice breeze and scenery makes it easier than it really is – the photos don’t do it justice). Joel and I would have loved to spend the day there but we didn’t exactly come prepared for a picnic so we took some photos, enjoyed the majestic view and herded the children back to the ferry and onto the ‘mainland’. That being said, we would definitely have to come prepared the next time. I simply love the loud roars of the ocean’s waves, quite strangely therapeutic for me and would love to spend some time there.