St Kilda Penguins (St Kilda)

The St Kilda Breakwater which protects the harbour is home to a colony of around 1200 Little Penguins.

If you go to St. Kilda Pier just before dusk you'll see the Fairy penguins swimming in at the end of the day and climbing the breakwater rocks into their nests. At the breakwater, walk along the gravel and then go down the wooden stairs.

Opening Hours:

The penguins can be seen all seasons through out the year at dusk.
Note: The nightly viewing at St Kilda Breakwater is currently (2022-2024) closed while St Kilda pier is undergoing a redevelopment. The new pier due to be completed by early 2024.

Cost:

Free. There are volunteers who manage the crowds and answer any questions.

Review:

It seems amazing that there is a penguin colony in the middle of Melbourne but I have confirmed it with my own eyes. The number of penguins which you get a chance to see varies each night. Typically there might be 10 - 20 penguins which return to the nesting area accessible by visitors but the number could be much less.

At the end of the St Kilda past the cafe is a rocky breakwater which leads down to a wooden jetty where people (mainly tourists) waited expectantly for the penguins to arrive. As it was becoming dark, some rangers came and found a few baby penguins in the rocks. The rangers were a rich source of information about the colony and penguins.

The penguins tend to wait until it is dark before coming in from the water and so there is limited advantage to coming early and waiting. Flash photography is absolutely banned since the penguins don't have any eye lids and flash can cause epileptic fits. It is possible to bring a torch with red light or use an infrared light on your camera however.

Even though we managed to see some penguins, it is quite a difficult activity for kids since it needs a lot of patience (we stayed many hours to see a small number of penguins) and the viewing area can get very crowded as people rush to the areas where penguins have been spotted.

On the way back to the car we saw lots of huge possums in Catani Gardens.