Day trip to penguin Island | City of Rockingham | Our Travel Diary.
We went to Penguin Island on October 2018 .
Penguin Island is a 12.5 ha (31 acres) island off the coast near Perth, Western Australia, approximately 660 m (722 yd) from Rockingham. It is home to a colony of approximately 1200 little penguins, the largest population of the birds in Western Australia. The waters surrounding the island make up the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.
Regular ferries[1] carry tourists to and from the island and other marine-park sights, the journey taking 5 minutes from Mersey point. The island can also be reached by private boat, kayaking, swimming, or walking across a tidal sandbar, which is often exposed above sea level at low tide for a large portion of its 700 m (766 yd) length, however at high tide, most of the sandbar is under varying depths of water. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) advises against the sandbar walk as weather conditions can change quickly, making the crossing dangerous, which has resulted in several drownings.
In addition to the colony of little penguins, there are many other sights including nesting seabirds and a 500-strong colony of pelicans.
Penguin Island has many geographical features, cliffs, small sea caves, headlands, beaches, coves, notches and natural bridges. There are also numerous wave-cut platforms.
Significant areas of Penguin Island include North Rock, Pelican Bluff, North Beach, McKenzies Well, South Beach, Abalone Point, and Surfers Beach.
There are numerous lookouts, boardwalks and walkways throughout most of the island. Some areas are fenced off to the public to protect wildlife and lessen dune erosion.
A small population of rescued penguins are kept in a dedicated enclosure on the island (known as the Discovery Centre) which was built by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 1987. As well as being a sanctuary to care for injured wild penguins, it is also the home of the 10 resident penguins that have been badly injured, orphaned as chicks or born in captivity, and it is unlikely that they would survive in the wild. It has been designed to reflect the penguins natural sandy, coastal scrub environment and includes a saltwater pond with viewing panels to watch the little penguins swim. Penguin feedings are held three times daily by a Wildlife ranger.