You’ve oohed and aahed at the adorable little penguins of Phillip Island. Now, get ready for another nature adventure, with a brand new Bandicoot Discovery Tour. This nocturnal experience, run by the team at Phillip Island Nature Parks, will provide a unique insight into how these creatures live in the wild.
The Eastern barred bandicoot was saved from extinction with the help of multiple agencies, including Phillip Island Nature Parks, Zoos Victoria, DELWP and Parks Victoria. They were introduced to the fox-free safe haven in 2017.
“The Eastern barred bandicoots have now been on Phillip Island for more than six years and since then have bred and grown in numbers, expanding to several parts of the island,” said Mark Anderson, General Manager, Tourism at Phillip Island Nature Parks.
Check out the Bandicoot Discovery Tour on Churchill Island over the Easter weekend, from March 29 to 31.
Bandicoot Discovery Tour
On the guided walking tour, you’ll spot the endangered bandicoots as they start to emerge from vegetation, and forage across paddocks and lawns, digging for crickets, grasshoppers, fungi and more. As they forage through the night, they dig hundreds of small conical pits, playing an important role as soil engineers. If you’re lucky, you might even see some bandicoots with their young!
“This exciting spotlight walk will give members of the community a rare opportunity to observe Eastern barred bandicoots foraging at dark and going about their nightly adventures in the wild, as well as a hands-on role in our conservation efforts,” said Anderson.
Each guest will help count adult and juvenile bandicoots, which will be used to help develop an understanding of the bandicoot population on Churchill Island.
You won’t be able to approach the creatures any closer than about 10 metres, but as they hop around, they might come up close to you.
The 1.5km walking tour on Churchill Island will take roughly two hours. You’ll need to be of reasonable fitness, and there might be uneven surfaces in dark conditions. This tour is not suitable for prams. As this is an outdoor activity, you’ll need to wear sensible clothing, like closed shoes, warm outfits and non-reflective weather protection.
Bookings are essential, as this tour will only take place over three nights, and only 20 people are permitted per tour.