Penguins, seals & gulls, oh my!

This past weekend we took a short trip south to Rockingham to visit Penguin Island, where the little penguins live. It's a short ferry ride over to the island, which has an interpretive center and boardwalks that keep visitors from walking on the various birds nests, king skinks, etc. There's also the option of walking along the shore to explore, which we took advantage of...

We happened upon this sleeping seal while walking on the south shore of the island; he seemed very comfy in the shade with his head resting on the rock! Greg caught him moving around a bit on the video camera.



The rock formations on the coast can be pretty wild, and of course we have to be cautious of rockfalls, but we went sticking our heads into crevasses anyways!
There are about a million gulls living on the island, nesting in the underbrush, and they can be very aggressive with us visitors; not as deadly as the maggies, but still, they sure can scream! Greg got an earful when he went off the main trail. It was strange to see the seagulls in their natural habitat like this, as we've become so accustomed to seeing them in the parking lots.

We didn't actually see any of the little penguins in their natural habitat; they spend the day fishing in the ocean and come back at dusk. We did get to see the ones that have been rescued and live in the interpretive center though. They're well cared for, with public feedings every couple of hours.