Nobbies Centre, Nature education center in Summerlands, Australia.
Nobbies Centre stands at Point Grant, on the western tip of Phillip Island, and is run by the Phillip Island Nature Park. Inside are educational displays, a cafe, a children's play area and a gift shop. Outside, a network of boardwalks leads to views of The Nobbies, The Blowhole and Seal Rocks, where about 16,000 fur seals live.
Tenders for a marine centre at Point Grant were called in January 1995, and Seal Rocks Victoria Australia Pty Ltd signed a 25-year build-operate-transfer contract in March 1997. The centre opened in April 1998 as the Seal Rocks Sea Life Centre, with stage one costing $13 million. A planned 1.9 km undersea tunnel to an observation tower was never built; a mini-tornado damaged the roof on 12 August 2002, and after a $7.1 million government repair grant in May 2005 it reopened in April 2007.
The centre takes its present name from The Nobbies, the rocky outcrops visible from its boardwalks, and was called the Seal Rocks Sea Life Centre until it reopened in April 2007. Its displays and cafe sit above Seal Rocks, where an estimated 16,000 fur seals haul out, and about half a million people stop here each year, 53% of them from overseas.
The centre is open daily and features accessible pathways, a cafe, and a shop, with free parking available. Bring weather-appropriate clothing since the island's tip is exposed and conditions can be windy.
The centre's name comes from the Nobbies, the offshore rocks visible from its boardwalks. Stage two of the original development was to include a 1.9-kilometre undersea tunnel to an observation tower at Seal Rocks, but the expansion was never built. The centre itself closed in August 2002 after a mini-tornado tore off its roof, causing $200,000 in damage.
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