Founded in 1927, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary. If you’re visiting Australia and determined to see a koala (like me), look no further!
While Long Pine Koala Sanctuary has multiple enclosures from cockatoos to possums, dingos, and crocodiles, there are two main reasons to visit:
- You have the opportunity to hug a koala. This is most definitely their biggest attraction, and for good reason! These koala’s are absolutely adorable, and deserve a bit of a snuggle. While there is a professional photographer to take your photo, you are also allowed to take your own photos as well, which I thought was pretty awesome of them.
- The Kangaroo Reserve. Typically, you are told to avoid getting close to kangaroos because they are dangerous, but at Lone Pine Sanctuary they have a free-range reserve where people have the opportunity to feed the kangaroos. While I passed on feeding them, I did manage to get a pretty sweet selfie…
The entirety of Lone Pine Sanctuary is a WiFi Zone, and it especially caters to bloggers. Check this out! Not only do they have blogging stations, but charging ports too. I found this to be quite unique, and quite useful.
As with most sanctuaries, Lone Pine Sanctuary gave information on each animal as you walked through the grounds. Did you know that a koala is a marsupial, not a bear? They give birth to an underdeveloped young, which then completes its development in a pouch.
And, did you know that kangaroos have tails to act as a counterbalance when hopping? I’d never thought about that.
As I was leaving the kangaroo reserve, I was even lucky enough to see a joey in its mama's pouch!
5FT Fun Facts:
- Koala’s have low energy due to their diet, so they need to sleep for up to 20 hours every day. Could you imagine?!
- Wombats, also known as the “bulldozers of the bush,” are largely nocturnal.
- The Southern Cassowary is Australia’s heaviest bird, and has a beautiful color!
- Tasmanian Devils are the largest meat-eating marsupials in the world, weighing up to 9kg. When excited, the ears of a Tasmanian Devil turn red due to an increase in blood flow. How do you think they got their names?!
- The Inland Taipan and the Eastern Brown Snake are the two most venomous land snakes in the world, both of which can be found at Lone Pine Sanctuary.
Lone Pine Sanctuary must not be missed if you’re visiting Brisbane! It’s an easy half-day trip from the city, with direct busses leaving every forty minutes from the Adelaide Street bus stop, so there are no excuses not to visit this incredible wildlife sanctuary.