Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The night John and I arrived in Australia we were sitting in the airport waiting for our shuttle, talking about everything that we wanted to see and do in Oz. I told him my number one thing was that I wanted to hold a koala. Our first full day in Brisbane, 8 months later, finally the time had come! Our adventure for the day was at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary located just 20 minutes outside the Brisbane CBD. We arrived pretty early in the morning, around 10 a.m. to give ourselves as much time as possible. The sanctuary is not just home to Koalas, though. They have lots of other native Australian animals--Tasmanian devils, wombats, platypus, Dingoes, birds, possums, and Kangaroos. But of course, they mainly have Koalas. But they had all kinds of koalas!

Old Koalas, male koalas, mommy koalas, snuggly koalas:

Baby Koalas:

I could have stayed there all day just watching them! You don't see them that active in the wild, so it was fascinating to watch them jump around from tree to tree (and man can they jump!) and watch them walk on all fours. 

But of course, the highlight of the day was when I got to hold one! We did it first thing in the morning, before the line got too long. I was so excited the whole time waiting and when it finally came to my turn, it only last about 30 seconds and it was hard to believe it actually happened! But it did!

Queensland is one of the only states in Australia where "Koala cuddling" or holding a koala as a member of the general public is allowed, but even Lone Pine has strict limitations. Each of their koalas can only be held for a maximum of 30 minutes a day, so they have them all on rotation and are closely monitored so they aren't disturbed too much. They show you how to hold them--providing ample support--and tell you to stand still and not talk to loudly around them, as they have sensitive ears. But even though it was only 30 seconds, it was awesome! Mine was so cute and cuddly I wished I could have taken him home. 

But holding Koalas isn't the only activity they have at the sanctuary. They have different talks and presentations for the different animals, of which we attended a few. 

They also have a big Kangaroo/wallaby area where you can buy a bag of Kangaroo food and feed them. 

There were so many and of different colors and sizes. They were very comfortable around humans and we even got to get close to one that was carrying a joey in it's pouch!

All in all it was a memorable day. I got to hold a Koala!!