From the Darwin airport we flew over 4 hours to Melbourne, our first major city in Australia.  We toured the city, walked the river front promenade, and rode the old time trolley system.  The city itself doesn’t have any standout landmarks like Sydney does, but it was a really enjoyable time.  

One day we took a bus about 2 hours south to a place called Phillips Island.   It is a penguin sanctuary. During the afternoon we got views of the ocean and some penguins and kangaroos.  After dinner and it was getting dark we went to a viewing platform at the edge of the ocean where the penguins come in out of the water at dusk to feed their young and climb up the side of the hill to their nests.  They walk right under the viewing platform and with the low lighting provided you do get to see them up close.   Because of flashes, etc no photography or video was allowed there.   Still a great day.