Day 252, Brisbane, Australia
We got to our hotel at around 1 am last night, and it took us a little while to wind down and fall sleep. The earliest hotel check-out time we’ve experienced has been 11am. So when they came knocking at the door at 10am, we weren’t exactly prepared. Luckily we hadn’t pulled much out of our suitcases, so we were rolling out into the lobby in record time.
We had one day in Brisbane, which luckily is the city that has the best place in all of Australia to cuddle a koala. Yes, I said cuddle! We ubered over to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, wondering if the advertising was hype or happening.
We went straight to the Koala Presentation at the Main Enclosure, where the keeper told us about Koalas.
They have a kindergarten for the babies.
This is what feeding time looks like, huge bunch of Eucalyptus leaves being delivered by the keepers.
Next we went to the Raptors, Birds of Prey Flight Show. All of the pictures of the flying birds were taken by Cali. She got so many amazing ones it was difficult to choose. These were my favorites.
Next we saw the Sheep Dog and Sheep Shearing Show. There were two dogs who have different specialties. The smaller on did more of the paddock herding. He could direct them through small areas, huddle them in a group, just about any configuration you can imagine. He did this with lots of trotting around and staring.
The other dog specialized in smaller spaces, within the fences. He will actually climb on top of them to direct them where they need to go. Never seen that before.
Next was the shearing, which was fascinating. He gave us a history of shearing and showed us antique sheers. Now, professional sheer a sheep in 3-5 minutes. Unbelievable. Here is a ewe waiting for her annual haircut.
The end product.
We saw the snake presentation as we stood in line to hold a Koala, the highlight of the day. The keeper we had was great, they didn’t rush you, let you really spend time actually cuddling the Koala. It wasn’t hype. They let you take as many pictures of videos as you wanted, it was a spectacular, rare animal moment.
But there was still more! We bought a couple of bags of kangaroo kibble at the General Store, and headed over to the large kangaroo, wallaby, and emu enclosure. After a couple of other great signs, we found the one we were looking for.
It was the hottest time of the day, so almost all of them were relaxing in the shade. Only the hungry ones came to the edge of the “leave us alone” zone for some kibble.
Both the girls happily came away with kangaroo slobbered hands. After feeding the kangaroos and wallabies, we were got a snack. Instead of pigeons, there are wild turkeys jumping on the table looking for scraps.
There was also a Platypus Feed and a Tasmanian Devil Feed. On the way out we saw the biggest band of flying foxes we’ve ever seen.
Of all the interactive animal sanctuaries we’ve been to, this one is our new favorite. The keeper/animal shows were great and just the right length. The sanctuary itself wasn’t crowded and small enough to do in an afternoon. Great experience. We would do it again, and again if we lived closer.