Antarctic Journey: Phillip Island Nature Parks

Cruising around Antarctica still rates as my best travel experience, so I was looking forward to visiting the Phillip Island Nature Parks’ attraction, Antarctic Journey.

Although it’s not possible to replicate the grandeur of this beautiful continent, Antarctic Journey brought back some wonderful memories.

Located at the Nobbies, Antarctic Journey is a joint venture between Phillip Island Nature Parks and WWF-Australia. It features numerous hands on activities and multi-media experiences which are both educational and fun.

Providing the educational component are information panels and short clips explaining the geology and wildlife of Phillip Island, the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic.

Then there are the `fun components’ such as looking at creatures under the microscope, identifying the sounds of different Antarctic animals and trying to sink a bowling ball. My favourite involved `thermal imaging’. Here I could compare my thermal image with an Emperor Penguin to see where and how much heat I lost in the cold. Needless to say there were far more red spots on my body (indicating heat loss) than on the penguin’s!  A quick trip to the `chill zone’ resulted in even more red spots appearing.

Huge screens showing beautiful footage featuring Antarctic wildlife was another of my highlights.

The screens share the space with another fascinating exhibit which uses ‘augmented reality’ technology. Stand on the exhibit, an ice flow, and you feel like can reach out to pat a penguin, stroke a seal and come face to face with a huge whale. I found it hard to move on from this exhibit. It may have been my fascination with the technology, or a wish that I was back in the Antarctic and could again see in person what I was seeing on the screen.

Tickets to the Antarctic Journey can be purchased individually or as part of the four park super pass. The pass also includes entry to the Penguin Parade, the Koala Conservation Centre where you can see koalas close up in their natural habitat and the historic Churchill Island.

Jenny Burns visited Antarctic Journey as a guest of Phillip Island Nature Parks.

For more stories on Phillip Island see Viewing Penguins Underground at Phillip Island,   Managing Penguins and People on Phillip Island, Wildlife Always A Delight on Phillip Island, A Watery Adventure at Phillip Island , Silverwater Resort  and Ranada Resort Phillip Island.