Ticking the Tourist Box: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

I was stupidly excited to be visiting Lone Pine koala sanctuary; the oldest and largest in the world. When I was young, my nan gave me a real koala skin toy (banned practice now, thank god), and whenever I played with it I always daydreamed about stroking a real koala one day. Having spotted a wild one on Stradbroke Island, I couldn’t wait to hold one!

Chillin' with a Roo

 

When we arrived at the sanctuary I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Seeing them up close, I was cooing and ‘awww’ing like a mad woman. ‘Kindergarten’ had 4 cheeky girls who were being very playful, jumping on the keepers head whilst he was cleaning. Never knew they could jump so far! The ‘retirement home’ had a more serene feel, with the OAPs lazily munching away and napping. The ‘boys’ area absolutely stank from their scent; the smellier the better to attract the girls apparently!

The Girls: '1, 2, 3...Jump'

 

I was in my element when I got to hold Hallie, a 2 year old koala. She was an absolute superstar, snuggling into me and posing like a pro for the camera. She was soooo fluffy! I wanted to scoop her up and take her home with me.

 

Meet Hallie

Next, we loaded our pockets with kangaroo food and soon found ourselves surrounded with a very friendly bunch, who had hopped over to say hello. For such big animals, I was surprised how gentle they were when eating out of my hand. They didn’t bat an eyelid when we gave them a stroke, and they were even softer than the koalas. Then before we knew it, boing, they had hopped off again.

Roo Selfie!

 

Such a novelty day; Now I really feel like I’m in Australia. Loaded up on my new koala facts, I’m going to be boring people for weeks!