Australia
Phillip Island
Every dusk, hundreds of tiny penguins waddle ashore in formation from the Southern Ocean.
They come out of the Southern Ocean every evening, small and determined. Hundreds of little penguins waddle ashore in formation, their flippers working, their bodies swaying, heading for burrows they have used for years. The march has happened every single night for as long as anyone has recorded it.
Phillip Island sits in Western Port Bay, 140 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, connected to the mainland by a bridge that belies its island character. The penguin parade at Summerland Beach is the island's signature — a colony of around 32,000 little penguins (the world's smallest penguin species) returns from fishing each evening in groups called rafts. Underground viewing platforms place visitors at penguin eye level. The island also hosts a significant Australian fur seal colony at Seal Rocks, koalas in the Koala Conservation Centre's eucalypt canopy, and the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, which has hosted motorcycle racing since 1928.
Couple
Penguins at sunset, then dinner in Cowes — a wildlife experience that feels like a private showing of nature's best work.
Family
Penguins, koalas, and seals in a single day — Phillip Island is a wildlife theme park that didn't need to build anything.
- Every dusk, hundreds of little penguins waddle ashore in formation — the march runs 365 days a year.
- The penguin parade boardwalk includes ranger-guided experiences and underground viewing hides at eye level.
- Koalas in the eucalyptus treetops, fur seals on the rocks, and short-tailed shearwaters overhead in season.
- The island's chocolate factory and wildlife parks make it a full day for families.
Fish and chips at San Remo bridge where pelicans line up for the daily trawler offcuts at noon.
Churchill Island farmers' market — heritage breed meats, island honey, and apple cider on a working farm.
Shodoshima
Japan
Olive groves and soy sauce breweries on a Mediterranean mirage in the Inland Sea.
Manitoulin Island
Canada
The world's largest freshwater island holds lakes within lakes and powwow drums across the water.
Dalyan
Turkey
River channels wind past Lycian cliff tombs to a turtle-nesting beach, explored by wooden boat.
Plockton
Scotland
Palm trees line a Highland loch shore where seals bask on rocks below snow-capped peaks.
Kangaroo Island
Australia
Sea lions lounge on beaches, koalas sleep in roadside trees, and the air tastes of eucalyptus.
Wave Rock
Australia
A 15-metre granite wave frozen mid-break, striped with mineral stains in the middle of wheat country.
Huon Valley
Australia
Huon pine colonies possibly 10,000 years old — a living organism older than civilisation itself.
Karlu Karlu (Devil's Marbles)
Australia
Granite boulders balanced like marbles by millions of years of wind, sacred in Warumungu Dreaming.