Granite Island Penguin Tours

The end of a day is a wonderful time to be on the south coast. The suns last rays put a golden touch on Granite Island. However we aren't the only ones heading home for an evening meal. Granite Island is home to about 750 pairs of fairy penguins. The best way to see the nocturnal activities of these birds is by joining one of the Granite Island Discovery Walks. Suzanne Minards took Lisa and a group, on one of these delightful evening walks, "Tonight we'll just be walking on this Northern shore with nice easy access and we will be using torches that make only enough light not to bother the Penguins too much. I will just show you the torch ,they have these orange lens which cut down the amount of light. Penguins eyes are six times more sensitive than ours. If you don't have access to a torch with the orange lens then you can use coloured cellophane". The Penquins are especially busy on the island at night. They nest in the craggy hills and that's where the chicks remain waiting for their parents to return with dinner. Mature penguins travel around 25 kilometres off shore each day in search of squid and fish but have been known to travel up to 100 kilometres out to sea. It's no wonder that they appear a little tired when they make their return to the rocky shores of Granite Island. And for the penguins there is safety in numbers. The cries of hungry chicks provides a cheer squad for the timid steps that the parents take crossing the tram tracks. But eventually one bold penguin makes the move and it becomes something of a sprint up through the boulders and into the nests. "When they've had a really big feed it takes them about 8 hours to digest the food. Then they rest and this can be sometimes 20 hours, which we call a PDO or a penguin day off". After dark Granite Island is almost over run with little penguins on their evening parade. The best way to catch the show is on one of the evening tours, where you have an experienced and informative guide. They take up to two hours and start at the Penguin Interpretive Centre on the island. It's five dollars for adults, three for children and there are concessions and family tickets. Bookings can be made by ringing 08 8552 7555 during office hours or more information via email info@postcards-sa.com.au