Phillip Island

We've spent a nostalgic few days on Millowl, Yallok Bulluk country now known as Phillip Island. For thousands of years, the Yallok Bulluk people came to Millowl in the summer to eat shellfish, small marsupials, fish and mutton bird.

George Bass was the first European to visit the island in 1798 after setting out from Port Jackson in a 28 foot whaleboat. The abundance of seals and other marine life attracted settlers and by the 1800s Phillip Island was the centre of a thriving fur seal trade.

A fair few years after that I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks here each summer with my lifelong bestie, Lynn.

Lynn'a grandparents, Herb and Marion, lived in Cowes and after an excruciatingly long, hot drive from Canberra in the back seat of the family Kingswood, Lynn's folks would deposit us at Herb and Marion's and then head off to enjoy some teenager-free time.

I have very fond memories of those summer holidays. We'd hang out at the beach in the mornings, watching Herb teaching small children the basics of swimming and keeping themselves alive if they fell into the water. Herb taught the "Penguins" swim school for decades and earned a Citizen of the Year award for his efforts in 1987.

At lunchtime we'd head back home where a wonderful spread of freshly baked bread and home made condiments, jams and cakes awaited. Marion's kitchen was a warm, welcoming and loving place.

When we weren't at the beach or feeding our faces, we'd spend hours playing gin rummy; or singing along loudly to old show tunes playing on the pianola; or endlessly reciting Monty Python sketches (this parrot has ceased to be...) and laughing hysterically as if we were hearing them for the first time. Good times.

I remember going to watch the fairy penguins come ashore and waddle up the beach to their nests after a day's fishing and doing whatever else penguins do. Back then you could just find a spot on the beach, sit on a blanket and watch the show. It's a very different production now.

And we'd go over the bridge to San Reno and watch the midday pelican feeding feeding. That's still a thing and doesn't seem to have changed much at all.

But Cowes has changed a lot, as you'd expect after so many decades. There's the MotoGP now, and a set of traffic lights. There's a car park where the open air cinema used to be and a ten pin bowling alley down the road. Herb and Marion's house is still there, and still owned by the family, and looks exactly the same.

The main street is full of boutiques, funky bars and pop-up coffee vans. There are curry houses, sushi bars, trattorias and a kebab stand at the servo. You can still get ice creams at the kiosk on the jetty, as well as tapas and paella. Odd.

It's a very different town to the one I remember, but that's progress I guess. And it's been done very well - we've certainly seen a few sleepy seaside town conversions that have been a lot less appealing.

Our only gripe is the abundance of "dogs prohibited" signs. No Penguin Parade on this visit. But we managed to see a fair bit of the island and we're glad took this trip down memory lane. Hope you enjoy the pics.