Yes - we did it - along with all the other weekend tourists. Our excuse was that we had to take Charlotte although I have to admit it was the one thing I really wanted to do on Phillip Island. We had already been to see some of the chicks in their nests in an area called The Nobbies (where we also saw our first snake. Anyway we dutifully joined the throngs and managed to get on the front row near the beach to await the arrival of the birds. It gradually got darker and colder, we took bets on what time they would actually set foot on the beach, and eventually they began to arrive in their hoards. What an amazing spectacle - a race for life up he beach with thousands of baby chicks croaking away to attract their attention. One chick near to us decided that he was fwd up with the nest and as soon as the parent birds arrived he was off down the beach - parents getting very frustrated trying to get him back to safety. He wasn't having it though. He was playing to the crowd and seemed to have no fear - possibly because his nest was so close to the audience every night.
We later walked up the boardwalks and many adult birds were being attacked by babies waiting for their own parents. The adults were well focussed though and only their own would do. Some of them walked a good 20 minutes off the beach. Their walkways were lit up so we could see them all the time. All this took about an hour before the wardens were ushering us off back to the car park. We were told that over a thousand penquins came in that night. Amazing how so many survive.
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