The cuddly koalas at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia

Sometimes Larger is Not Better

Planning our trip to Australia and New Zealand, we had determined that Sydney would be saved for another journey. One of our travel goals for this trip was to hold a koala, and we read in our research that you cannot do this in Sydney, but you could in Brisbane. Air New Zealand flew into Brisbane, so our city was chosen. But which park would be the optimum experience to hold a koala ?

Doing research for our Mother/Daughter trip to Australia, we were enamored with the gorgeous website and great reviews for the Australia Zoo, the Irwin Family 1,000 acre park which is just north of Brisbane. We watched the Crocodile Hunter on television and were fans of Steve Irwin. Of course we would want to visit this park and see koalas and kangaroos.

As we read and studied the Australia Zoo website, we noted the times available to visit with the different animals throughout the premises. We realized that we would have to hike from one end of the park to the other to stand in line for visit times and the schedules would have us in the park for an entire day. Plotting our flights and drive up the Australian Coast, we knew that the Australia Zoo just did not fit our timeframe.

Rick, however, had taken Heather to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane on their father/daughter trip fifteen years earlier. This Sanctuary was much smaller, only 45 acres and was in a Brisbane suburb. We could hold a koala and sit and play with the kangaroos and it would not be a full day adventure, unless we wanted it to be.

We chose Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which has been open since 1927, and were totally delighted with our decision. We were second in line to hold this cuddly creature and it only cost us $25 for this once in a lifetime experience. We sat and played with the kangaroos in a huge open structure, even taking selfies with an inquisitive kangaroo. They had 130 koalas eating on the eucalyptus trees, along with habitats for wombats, echidnas, and kookaburras !

This inquisitive kangaroo was determined to be a part of our selfie

We had to drag ourselves out of the Park because we were having so much fun. We were grinning like kids as we drove away…….
Sometimes larger is just not the better choice. Go to koala.net to see their website and get all of the information on this fabulous facility.

Jennifer talks to the animals and they actually listen