Melbourne is a good Tourist option for Animal Lovers

I hate to see animals locked inside a cage. As in zoos. That’s why I admire the cities, communities, and Government authorities that do animal tourism the responsible/right way: Letting animals stay in their natural environment, and enabling humans to visit them without disturbing their activities in any way.

Melbourne, Australia, seems to have got that spot-on. I think this city is a good tourist option for animal lovers. Just have a look at two of their flagship tourism initiatives:

1. Seal Watching at Seal Rocks, Phillip Island:

This two-hour cruise enables tourists to visit and see Australia’s wild fur seal colony on Seal Rocks, off Phillip Island, on a boat. The boat comes within a few meters to let tourists see thousands of seals in their natural environment. Don’t you think this is a noble tourism initiative when compared to capturing animals and locking them in zoos? Zoos not only stuff animals/birds into small enclosures, but they also do it in a location that is not their natural habitat. High-time this nonsense called zoo is abolished.

2. Penguin Parade, Phillip Island:

The Penguin Parade is also located in Phillip Island, Australia. It is the third largest tourist attraction in Australia! It seems, this place is home to more than 32,000 little penguins which would fill the hearts of any animal lover with delight!

Again, sighting Penguins in their natural enclosure (and even building small homes for them) is much better than capturing Penguins and putting them inside little cages in zoos just because people in cities are too lazy to travel.

If you are an animal lover, I hope you’ll consider visiting Phillip Island in Australia, where they do responsible wild-life tourism, the way it needs to be done. I hope other places and countries follow suit, and abolish zoos at the earliest.

Have a look at interesting tourist options in Melbourne, Australia, and also the Visit Melbourne Official tourist website.

Destination Infinity

Disclaimer: This post was written for an indiBlogger contest titled ‘What’s your reason for falling in love with Melbourne, the most livable city in the world’. I will get a pen-drive for writing this post. 

Contest for readers: Have a look at these videos, and let know your favorite tourist destination in Melbourne, in the comments section below to win a gift voucher of Rs. 500/- (for one lucky winner). The contest is open until 3rd January 2015.

10 thoughts on “Melbourne is a good Tourist option for Animal Lovers

  1. D. D.

    After watching those videos I want to tell you about my favourite destination in Melbourne – I would like to go to Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate – because I like chocolates and I would like to see making of chocolates and taste it, also I would like to go to take a Hot Air Balloon ride because watching the beautiful panorama from sky will be a thrill for me, and and would like to see the worlds’s greatest street art in Melbourne because I like to see paintings.

  2. Manogna

    Wow…
    I just love the Penguin parade, watching seals and also picking strawberry!
    Like the post already mentioned in the title itself, this is truly a heaven for animal lover and i ,being a self confessed animal lover ,want to visit Melbourne now!
    Not to miss the cute Seal puppet and Penguin soft toys which are drool-worthy.
    wow..!

  3. Hema

    Wonderful post and interesting videos that make me feel that
    Melbourne invites the eternal romantic in me to hold hands with my beloved and go see the Twelve Apostles .Go on long drives on the great ocean road. In the middle of nowhere in a vineyard spread a table and enjoy a meal and a glass of wine with my dear one. Enjoy the sunsets holding hands and do lots of shopping at the Queen Victoria Market and see all the graffiti being created at the hosier lane.
    Great Post and interesting videos watching them I am sure to visit Sovereign Hill for spending some time in the era gone by. The lure of gold and panning for some nuggets is a temptation that is too much to resist. After I have found the gold I am bound to celebrate it with some wine so I will visit the vineyards and enjoy some great wine from the Yarra region .Visit the Pannys Phillip Island Chocolate Factory and have my fill with this yummy delight.

  4. Ranjith

    I would like to visit the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is located in Yarra Park. Cricket has fancied me since childhood. I still remember those days when the elders in my neighbourhood used to start shouting and hunting for us the moment the cricket ball hit by me broke one of their window panes. Running away from them was even more exciting than playing cricket itself.

    I used to follow every cricket match played by India religiously and used to analyse and discuss it with friends and siblings for days and months. Being such an enthusiastic fan of cricket, visiting one of the world’s largest cricket stadiums is one of my dreams.

    The thought of being seated amongst 95,000 other fans of cricket and cheering the players itself sounds exciting to me. Such large cricket stadiums are one of the ways to explore how much the passion for cricket has penetrated among the people of the world. MCG is located in Yarra Park, which also has many other sporting fields. This would allow me to explore not just cricket, but also many other games.

  5. Kitchenmummy

    Wow! I am so glad you’ve brought out such a unique aspect of Melbourne in your post.. people tend to focus exclusively on food, sights or shopping! Very happy to come here and read your blog.. after reading your post and going through the videos in the contest link, I would like to surely see the penguin walk – just standing there and being part of something so exquisite from nature would be a memorable experience for me and my family forever 🙂

  6. Deepika

    I am a kind of person who loves to live every second lively. And Melbourne is the most liveable city. My friends who work in Australia always say its the best place to live and work on this planet. So I always had that longing to visit the country.
    I am a big fan of Tea, and since Melbourne is known for Tea culture, I would love to have Afternoon tea at Murchie’s Tea.. I love those Whale watching and would love to watch a movie in the extremely high resolution and the enormous screen of IMAX Victoria and treat my ears with the powerful sound. Finally, I would love to experience the land-and-sea tour by the Victoria Hippo Tours and Adrena LINE Zipline Adventure

    My Blog post:
    http://deepikamuthusamy.blogspot.in/2014/12/melboure.html

  7. Jeevan

    No doubt its a wonderful way to meet animals at their home rather bringing them into our comfort. Its an experience in itself understanding their real habitat.

  8. Alok

    Interesting Post
    After reading your post and watching all the videos
    I feel I have stepped into a kaleidoscope called Melbourne
    Where Vistas of experiences would unfold one after another
    The nature lover in me is enticed by the thought of watching the penguin parade.
    Traveling though the great ocean road, soaking up the freshness as the breeze ruffles my hair gets me in the mood to pack my bags for Melbourne.
    But before I can move ,Puffing Billy whistles and invites me for a ride. The kid in me jumps with joy at the thought of visiting Pannys Phillip Island Chocolate Factory
    Even before I can deside on the list of places that I would like to see in and around Melbourne.
    What’s that noise that I hear ?
    Oh its loud cheer from MCG as the cricket world cup 2015 is about to kick start.
    So many plces to see and so much to do.

  9. jhilmil bhansali
    jhilmil bhansali says:

    Hey ,Superb post ,so all set to pack bags to have a thrill at Melbourne,Now being high on my wish list .U’ve very well covered the best of Melbourne and for the entry in contest ,there cannot ever be a single place for me.It has to be a bouquet of places to calm down my zest to explore it.So naming ,first comes the Great Ocean road not just to linger or have a decent walk but to amaze myself with Jetskiing ,Scuba diving and to try swim with Dolphins,seal Yay,these beautiful creatures would be lucky to share a swim with me.ha ha.Then it would be Eureka Sky deck, to have an awe inspiring experience to be closest to sky and get the sky deck view of this liveable city, MCG to watch and cheer the players on one of the worlds best cricket ground!

    Wishing u Best of Luck & a great year ahead.

    Visit my blog

    http://jhilmilbhansali.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/a-date-for-life-timea-date-with-nature-wildlife-art-cuisine-ah-melbourne/

  10. Shilpa Garg

    Penguin Parade will top my list of must see places in Melbourne. penguins are such cute creatures (heavily influenced by cartoon programs viz Pingoo and Madagascar movies), watching them live, pottering around in their natural habitat would be fun and entertaining.

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