I didn't see them march

  Penguin Island, Australia
Saturday, May 19, 2007

Headed down to Rockinham one day, about 40kms or so south of Freo to see the much heralded Penguin Island, a short boat ride from the Rockinham beach. Penguin Island is, not surprisingly, a refuge for um..penguins.  I think they should have called it Seagull Island though because outside of the visitor / rehabilitation centre I didn't see any penguins.  Apparently, in the day, they stay in the shrubs to avoid the sunlight and visitors aren't allowed on the island at night.  Needless to say I have my doubts that there are actual penguins on this island.

The island was first inhabited by a crazy (literally) Canadian who lived in the caves for a number of years in the early 1900s before the Australian government made the island a nature reserve. The caves are now off-limits to humans for the penguins who 'live' there.

What I did see where hundreds of seagulls. It was breading season and, apparently, seagulls are very protective of their eggs, which they all assumed I was there to take away. Geesh. It was like being in Alfred Hitchcock's "Birds"  They are vicious. If I hadn't enacted evasive maneuvers I could have easily been covered in seagull crap.