Phillip Island

Across the water from Kingston, Phillip Island burns red on the horizon - the eroded outlier whose rabbit-and-pig century stripped it to Mars-coloured slopes now recovering under park care, and whose cliffs and gullies host the seabird spectacle: petrels, boobies, terns and the island's famous summer whalebirds colonising in thousands. Guided trips cross when seas allow, land at the rock shelf and climb the rope-assisted track to the plateau's colonies and colour fields - the red earth against blue Pacific making the day's second spectacle. It is Norfolk's expedition, one strait wide. The island lies around six kilometres off the Kingston shore and is visible from most of the south coast.

What you actually see

• The red slopes - Mars fields recovering to green.
• The seabird colonies - petrels and boobies in thousands.
• The rope track - the assisted climb to the plateau.
• The strait crossing - Kingston's water to the outlier.

When to go

October to April for landings and colonies both; sea state holds the veto - operators call the day.

Honest expectations

The landing and climb ask agility and the guides' word; no shade, carried water and colony distances are the terms.

Nearby

Kingston's pier and reef lagoon.