Brisbane isn’t the most “touristy” city in Australia. We don’t have Sydney’s beaches or Melbourne’s graffitied alleys, BUT we do have a place where you can cuddle koalas and hang out with tons of kangaroos.
This was my third time visiting Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (here and here) but it had been a while. After visiting the Taronga Zoo in Sydney and only seeing a handful of kangaroos and no koalas (we apparently missed the “koala time”) I knew I wanted to take Caroline somewhere she could really experience the most famous Aussie animals. Plus, Queensland is the only state where it is legal to “cuddle” a koala. They are very strict about it and only certain koalas are allowed to be held and only for short periods of time each day.
Lone Pine has various types of birds and other animals but the main attractions are the koalas and kangaroos.
The koalas are hanging out in different cages depending on their age and gender. There are Kindergeaten, Bachelor Pad and Retirement Home cages among others.
The kangaroos on the other hand are just hanging out in a giant field with some Emus and Wallabies.
For only a couple bucks (.50 cents if you are a member like me) you can buy a bag of Roo Food to feed them. They are very calm and patient animals and will come right up to you and wait for you to hold out the food.
I am not one for feeding animals (I am not a fan of slobbery animal tongues on my hand) so I spend my time watching people try to take selfies with the kangaroos. That alone is worth the $30 entry fee.
Caroline paid the $18 to cuddle the koala and ended up getting a bargain. Her first picture was a tad blurry so when we went to pick it up they informed us she would get to hold another koala to get a better picture. Caroline’s face lit up like the fourth of July (which ironically is her birthday) and I think it’s safe to say she will be looking into koala pet ownership.
Another plus of the day was that on Wednesdays from 2pm-6pm Lone Pine hosts a farmer’s market. It was a smaller market but had several tasty food stalls to grab a snack from before you head in if you aren’t keen on eating the concession stand style food inside.
We shared a nutella banana crepe, because what else do you eat outside in 100 plus degree temperatures? Probably something slightly more refreshing but whatever, it was delicious.
If you are ever in the Brisbane area, you need to make a point to head out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and cuddle a koala! 🙂
Alkeks Abroad 