The Nobbies (Seal Rocks) in Phillip Island

nobbies australia

This is my favorite place on Phillip Island. The Nobbies (previously known as Seal Rocks) is located just a stone’s throw away from the Penguin Parade. It’s located on the south-western tip and admission is free!

us nobbies

If you have limited time in Phillip Island, I suggest you head here just before you go for the Penguin Parade.

nobbies

The Nobbies is a system of boardwalks that overlooks the Seal Rocks, The Nobbies and The Blowhole (which is a 1.2 km walk away). It’s home to Australia’s largest colony of fur seals, which can often be found basking right on the rocks itself.

nobbies phillip island

However, you’ll need a pair of binoculars to spot them. We didn’t see any seals or SEALs but there was a seal behind the camera. Haha! Contrary to popular belief, sixthseal.com does not mean “seal” (the animal you club) or “SEAL” (the elite group small mission unit that killed UBL). It’s a passage from Revelation that means “seal” (the wax you put on an old letter).

seal rocks

Seal Rocks (as it was known back when I first visited) is now known as The Nobbies and offers stunning vistas perfect for photography. It’s like a scene from a postcard! The rays from the sun comes glistening through to hit the large rock where fur seals sun themselves

silver gulls

It’s also a place where Silver Gulls nest. These are amazing birds that we first mistook for a kite. Silver Gulls has a distinctive way of “flying” – they remain stationary! The wind coming into The Nobbies is amazingly strong – I had to fight my phone to keep it from flying away. The gulls can just stay motionless at one place, riding the draft and not even flapping their wings, unless it’s to move to another altitude. Amazing birds!

the nobbies

It’s a nice place to walk around and just relax at. It was my favorite moment in Phillip Island and I wanted this to be the last post about our trip there. You can see how strong the wind is just from the way it messes with our hair and clothes (it constantly flipped my stiff collar).

seal rocks australia

It’s a must visit if you go to Phillip Island – don’t just go for the Little Penguins, spend some time at The Nobbies and watch the seal colonies and relax by the boardwalk. It can be slightly chilly in autumn though, so bring a windbreaker (instead of borrowing mine like Ling did). 😉

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28 thoughts on “The Nobbies (Seal Rocks) in Phillip Island”

    • Thanks mate! 🙂

      Yup, The Nobbies is a beautiful place! I’ll love to go again and walk to The Blowhole 1.2 km away but we didn’t have enough time before the Penguin Parade that day.

      The photos are of the famous Seal Rocks where fur seal colonies sun themselves. You need binoculars to see them though.

      I love Australia, last time I went was in 2011, it’s a great place, very diverse.

      Reply
    • Yeah, you’ll love it at The Nobbies then! 🙂

      You can set up a high powered telescopic lens and try to shoot the seals on Seal Rock with a dSLR – I’ve seen people do that. A lot of photographer also go for the birds.

      It’s a beautiful place, I love it!

      Reply
  1. Hmmmm….still can’t get over lending me your wind breaker..ehhhh. Okay, fine. Next time I go borrow from others.**kidding**

    Reply
    • Haha! You know I’ll even give you the button up shirt that I have dear. 🙂

      I’m okay with that, I can see you’re still very cold even with all that layered clothing. I didn’t think it would be that cold in autumn at that time.

      It was one of the best places we went to in Phillip Island eh?

      Reply
    • Yeah, it’s very windy indeed! 🙂

      It’s also a very nice place to stroll with a loved one and spot the fur seal colonies. There’s also a blowhole about 1.2 km away, which isn’t far when the weather is this good.

      I love this place, the view is amazing.

      Reply
    • Haha! That must be before 1981 – 32 years ago! 🙂

      I wonder how Melbourne was like back then. I’ve seen photos of all Roberts Hall (Halls of Residence) residents back into the 60’s – it’s displayed in the university residence. I’m in 1999-2003.

      Yeah, Phillip Island is a nice place, the major attractions changed a lot but the island itself hasn’t changed much even in 10 years. Cowes, the main town on the island, still only has a couple of shops and the Coles only opens till 10 pm!

      It must be interesting to travel there in the 70’s! 😀

      Reply
    • Yeah, I love The Nobbies! 🙂

      The Seal Rocks is a very popular photography spot, but thankfully there weren’t a lot of people when we went. There’s also a very interesting gull there that rides the wind currents and doesn’t move at all despite the hard blowing wind – it just stays stationary and sorta glides on the air without moving at all!

      It was very, very windy, it messed up my clothes and our hair. Haha!

      Reply
    • Yeah, I love the Seal Rocks! 🙂

      It’s a beautiful place, especially during sunset and sunrise. We wanted to head to Churchill Island or The Nobbies during sunrise but we had to catch the V/Line back to Melbourne – we didn’t have enough time to spend on Phillip Island.

      We told the lady owner Bernie that we’ll be back for our honeymoon. Haha!

      The Nobbies is a beautiful place!

      Reply
        • Haha! None taken at all! 🙂

          I’m actually planning for next year. The rest is up to her whether to accept or not.

          I believe that you should not date longer than 2 years before getting married if all is well. 😀

          Reply
    • Yup, remember to pack your binoculars or use a dSLR to zoom in though – telescopic lens helps a lot, saw a lot of people lugging large ones to take photos of the fur seal colony. 🙂

      It’s quite an epic place – Seal Rocks (now The Nobbies) is my favorite place in Phillip Island.

      Reply
  2. Gosh, the view is absolutely gorgeous! You are making me miss Davenport and Western Springs.

    I’ll have to remember to visit Melbourne during the summer (can’t stand the windy autumn and terrible winter) as I can see that Phillip Island sure has lots of tourist attractions.

    The wind is very reminiscent of Auckland. xD

    Reply
    • Yup, I remember the winds of Auckland very well too! 🙂

      I like autumn and spring though (and also winter for snowboarding) but summer in Melbourne is *horrible*. It consistently breaks records every single year. The hottest it went when I was studying was 39.8 degrees Celsius!

      That’s close to 40 degrees Celsius so trains are like ovens (don’t touch metal surfaces) and people actually tried to fry eggs on manholes. Shops were closed and people walked around in boardshorts and bikinis, it was *that* hot.

      Reply
    • Thanks mate! 🙂

      Yup, the view at Seal Rocks is amazing! It looks like something out of a postcard!

      There’s no entrance fees or anything to The Nobbies too – pure nature, with a bracing autumn sea breeze while you walk down the boardwalk and spot fur seal colonies. I love it!

      Reply
  3. Wow breathtaking views. I can probably spend half a day here just fiddling with my camera. Not sure if my girlfriend will think that’s a romantic idea. Haha

    Reply
    • Haha! Well, if your girlfriend is a photographer, she might! 😉

      That’s something in common then!

      The views at Seal Rocks are awesome! It’s different during autumn, the weather is perfect, it was really hot in summer.

      Reply
    • Yup, it’s a beautiful place, The Nobbies! 🙂

      I like the Seal Rocks and autumn was a perfect time to go visit.

      Too bad we didn’t have time to go to The Blowhole, but we’ll be back!

      Reply
    • Yup, it’s always good to be with her! 🙂

      It’s quite cold in Phillip Island, coz of the strong winds – can go about 20 km/h. I left my lighter on the table in the private balcony and guess what?

      It blew away! A lighter! Clean off the balcony!

      It’s the wind chill factor more than anything, but I love autumn in Victoria.

      Reply

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