Phillip Island

Feeling refreshed after a calm trip across Bass Strait, we made our way to Philip Island. It rained most of the way and we arrived at 8:30am, too early to check in so we spent some money at Woolworths and then drove around the island for a look.

After stops at the chocolate factory & visitor centre, we arrived at the Big 4 by 10:30 and were set up by 11. Much to do here for the boys with a jumping pillow, games room & 64,000 kids on school holidays. Whilst the boys are great and have come a long way on the trip, when other kids are brought into the mix they just do NOT listen to us, and no amount of privilege withdrawal matters to them, because they have friends...

Zander has been testing us big time in recent weeks with sulking again, turning up the volume when he knows it irritates us most. It seems like one regression after another with that boy, but I guess parenting is (as we may have said before), a labor of love even when you do want to ring his neck. Maverick is now at the age where he sees all of this going on & is trying to start the same antics on us....... bloody excellent....

That aside we managed some kicking of the footy and we let them play the iPad & DS just to give us some time to relax. Nat went for a walk & I nudged out my 1st 10k run in a year or so which was good. The reality is that these small amounts of time (run/walk) is all we have to be alone while travelling & is my excuse for my slow run pace & Nat's for her extended walk time.

Whilst at the visitor centre we arranged a family pass to the Penguin Parade at dusk.

I can tell you that it is nothing like what I remember as a kid, & it was not enjoyable. It is purely a commercialised money spinner. Yes you get to see penguins but you are fighting 2000 others, (& its not peak season.... & only in one of the viewing areas.) The seated areas were wet from rain which is OK, but the concreter must have been drunk when he boxed up because he made the fall the wrong way and effectively our feet were in ankle deep water.

With that many people, some become pushy & disregard the rules. There were people of a certain decent that just infuriated me.

We are all told to remain seated, in every language, so that we can all see......several times. We are also told no photographic or recording devices allowed...several times....

If you are deaf, the above is also signed to the point of nausea.

These people in question, as soon as the birds came in, stood up (splashing water over everybody) yelling and carrying on like they had never seen an animal before, impeding everyone else's view with total disregard. The rangers asked them to sit and explained why, then after they left...straight up again!!! We didn't see anything from the viewing area as a result.

On the boardwalk (where you can get up close) was better, however a similar thing happened up there. Flash photography going bananas, scaring the birds, digital recorders everywhere & at one stage I was showing the boys a couple of birds and one literally grabbed my arm and started pushing me out of the way.

Let's just say I gave it to her in a polite way given the boys were there & I don't think she even understood or cared. The boys got to see multiple penguins in the end, so no harm done but Mum & Dad were just appalled at how many people they let in, and how some of these people conduct themselves. They should regulate it to 2-300 maximum to ensure a nice experience. It's still $15,000+ per day 365 days a year.... At a guess I would be surprised if less than 80% were disgruntled.

We wouldn't do it again & its not the experience we had in mind for the boys.

Today however, we were going to the GP Circuit for the tour and some Go Kart Racing. The boys hate cars and competitiveness so we thought we may not be on the right wicket, but it seems not, this is a brilliant day out!!!

Firstly we arrived and paid for the tour which included the museum. We wandered through there and as always, the boys don't appreciate "the old stuff" but here was some interesting stuff in there coupled with some great shots of 2 & 4 wheeled champions on the track, along with the vehicles that got them there.

We then moved down to the karts where unfortunately Mav was too young, but Zander & I jumped in a dual and had a blast. The track is an exact replica of the circuit -1/5 of the size & It was wet so we had plenty of sideways action.  Dads extra spare tyre helped us on the downslopes too.... Zander had his own steering wheel & he actually thought he was steering which was so cool & I had to let him continue to think it was the case. I would have paid double if I knew I would see that beaming smile.

They have the longest slot car track in Australia there also, which is another circuit replica so the four of us had a race on it. This was fun and great that we could all do it together. Zander won, Mav second, Mum third & Dad last. This had nothing to do with the fact I was picking up everyone else's cars when they spun off the track after going too hard into the corners....

The tour began at 2pm, and was really good. Even Nat said on the way home she loved it & I can tell you she is no petrol head.

They take you up to race control where you get a lesson on everything that happens inside the nerve centre, which is more than you might think. You can take shots of the track & luckily the Ducati Owners Club of Victoria were racing today so we got some great footage. $15,000 to hire the circuit for the day & he told us the story about the Maserati Owners Club from SA that come there often. There are only 4 in the club, so they invite their mates with Lamborghinis & Ferraris to round it out at 10 competitors with a street value of $7m in cars. They chopper in and out, the cars get trucked there and back, then i'd reckon they probably go back to sipping their skinny goats milk lattes!!!! Funny stuff.

We explored the pits, the corporate suites, and got to stand on the podium.

You don't have to love motor racing to enjoy this place, I would recommend the tour to anyone.

Jumping pillow, games room & early night tonight, off to Squeaky Beach tomorrow in Wilsons Promontory. I hope this is the same as I remember it as a boy.......

Jase