Seeing Penguins "in the wild" in Sydney

Seeing Penguins "in the wild" in Sydney

6/18/2016 10:44:45 AM

I was in Sydney last month and was lucky enough to see one of the little penguins in the wild, during the day, on a rock, looking out to sea, about 10 metres from a pathway that is part of the coastal walk near Manly, a little West (closer to Manly beach) of Shelly beach.

Here’s a photo I was able to snap of it. Not the greatest quality as it was taken on my camera phone (no optical zoom).

Little penguin

As for how rare this is; I mentioned it to friends I was visiting (who live in Manly) and they expressed only moderate surprise.

The walk is dotted with signs like the one shown below. So if you’re in the vicinity of such a sign, keep your eyes peeled for penguins!

Little penguins sign

4/11/2012 12:49:47 PM

Again, depending on how near is “near Sydney”, you can see penguins in Jervis Bay, which is a shorter day trip than Melbourne! (About 3 hours drive as opposed to 10.)

Look for whale watching operators and kayaking tours among others.

8/22/2014 3:24:54 AM

Well yes and no. Because it depends what you mean by “near Sydney”.

Penguins do exist in Sydney, but they are so endangered that only about 60 pairs remain in the only location on the New South Wales mainland that has them. You can read about the efforts to protect them on the environment.nsw.gov.au website. The page doesn’t mention anything about tourist access to them and considering their plight I would imagine it’s not allowed.

Further south there are plenty of penguins at Phillip Island in Victoria. That’s a bit over 1,000 km or 600 miles away from Sydney.

There is a very famous “fairy penguin parade” near a town called Ventnor that you can begin reading about on WikiTravel.

Fairy penguins are apparently more commonly known as “little penguins” elsewhere.
Australian penguin
(Thanks to Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons for the photo.)

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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