The Penguins at Sulphur Creek – JD Edwards, The Small Glories
Summer Tour 2018 – Cygnet to Illawarra
We pulled into Sulphur Creek after a beautiful drive along the coast of Northern Tasmania with the Wynyard and Stanley shows ahead of us. The Sulphur Creek Hall was right across the road from the ocean and we could hear the waves hitting the beach from the stage. We had a great sound check, as always, with Harry at the helm and Courtney had started to sort out the merch and prepare for the audiences’ arrival. We were feeling peckish and asked about dinner. Someone had suggested Penguin and we thought, that sounds gross. What they meant was head back down to the town of Penguin and grab some grub. So Cara, Harry and I hopped in the van and drove down the highway and found a small diner. We ate burgers and fries and took pictures next to the giant Penguin in the centre of the village.
After we ate and made it back to the hall the show began. We had an awesome show that night and yet another wicked dance party took place during the show. It was epic.
When the show was over one of the committee board members told us about the Little Penguins who came up from the ocean to nest for the night on the beach across the road. He told us about a hidden path we could take to a secret part of the beach. We were stoked and loaded the van as fast as we could as to get to the beach in good time to catch the Penguins.
The night sky was clear and we could see the stars perfectly. We crossed the road and barely found the path, pushed away the branches and brush and landed on the beach. Someone said from the darkness to turn our lights off and sit down. We did. And when we did, that’s when we started to hear them.
Quiet splashes from the ocean, little penguin noises from just behind the rocks and in the bushes all around us. It was magical. We had never heard or seen anything like it.
I tried to call out to the Penguins in my best Penguin voice and low and behold, the penguins called back to me. In fact, Cara Claire Harry and Courtney all thought that I had become a penguin and ran into the ocean to swim with them.
It was truly a memory I will remember forever.
