A Career in Koala Cuddling

[Disclaimer: I'm not actually adding a major in "Koala Cuddling." Maybe in another life.  But for now, I'll just use my yearly membership at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to pretend I am a koala keeper and spend as much time with the Aussie animals as possible.]

As you may have guessed, the day we spent at the koala sanctuary was absolutely spectacular.  I'll give you a run through of the day.  ( If YOU ever visit Brisbane or study abroad in Australia, pay attention to the red TIPS. If not, then you can just skim over those or read them for fun :) )

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Saturday, March 12 aka the best day of my life. (ok, one of the best)

8am: wake up and pack my bag with disposable camera, phone & charger, water bottle, & sunscreen

8:30am: get on the bus to Fig Tree Pocket, the stop for the koala sanctuary

(TIP: make sure you get 9 bus swipes before the day that you go visit the koalas so you'll have a free ride.  It's about the same price as a ride to UQ from our house, but it's just nice to have free rides & not worry about it for the day)

couldn't contain our excitement!!!

9:15am: arrive at Lone Pine and take my dorky picture for my new photo ID

(TIP: if there's a good chance you'll go to the sanctuary more than once during your time in Aus, just go ahead and get the yearly pass.  Buy online at koala.net to save more! As a student, a one day ticket is $21 but a yearly pass is $44, and all your accompanying guests get 20% off!)

9:30am: straight to the koala cuddling. It's literally called Koala Cuddling on the map.  The only thing that's annoying is you have to pay to get a photo taken in order to hold the koalas... which obviously I deemed well worth it.  I got my friends to take pictures and videos while the actual photographer was taking fancier pics of me and my new friend.  I wish they would've let me hold him all day!!! (It really does not last long at all, so enjoy spending time with your new furry friend for about 1 minute and get as many pictures as possible, because the trainer will take it back much quicker than you think.)

What you actually see a lot.

What you think you'll see constantly.

10am: collect our hilariously awkward yet ridiculously adorable koala photos from the gift shop.  Purchase kangaroo food to feed the kangaroos (obviously)

(ALSO a good reason to buy the annual pass.  A bag of kangaroo food is usually $2 but with a pass it's 50 cents!)

10:05am: wander through the wildlife area and gaze in awe at the countless kangaroos.  Pet them, feed them, take a selfie, and repeat!

(TIP: wear clothes & shoes you don't mind getting dirty. I stepped in much more kangaroo poop than I care to know about, and if you want to be really touristy and lay down and take a picture with the kangaroos--why would you not?!--then there's a good chance you'll get dirt, grass, and possibly poop on your clothes as well.)

11am: (or whenever you finish hanging out with your new favorite Australian friends) check out the other exhibits.  Walk around and find the platypus, Tasmanian devils, dingos, a variety of gorgeous birds, and of course, the chubbiest wombat you will ever meet.

Rest of the day: look at the map and itinerary and choose which shows you want to go to.  Some options are the Wildlife Encounter, Dingo Walk, and Sheepdog/sheep shearing show.  We just picked the wildlife encounter because it was the shortest and worked best for what time we were there.

After one of the shows, called Wildlife Encounter, we decided to go to the top of Mt Coot-tha (about a 5 min drive) for a stunning view of Brisbane.  We were excited about hiking, until we realized how tired we already were, so we opted for driving to the summit and taking more time to relax and soak in the view.  There was even a wedding in the pavilion at the top!  Such a good spot.

We could even some UQ from here.

We had such a fun day! Love these pals.

I hope you go to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary some day or another zoo where you can hold koalas and pet kangaroos.  There's nothing quite like it.

For now, enjoy this photo of me and my unnamed koala buddy, and start planning your trip to Australia ;)

Be Excellent (or be a koala)

xoxo Jo Jo

                      

paradise.

PS I found yet another good hammock spot.  Orleigh Park which is a 20 min walk from my house! It's on the river across from Toowong (just another suburb/bar restaurant area) and you can constantly watch ferries and kayaks and jetskis gliding down the river. Also, there's never a shortage of people and dogs running down the river path.  A great choice when I miss my puppies and I need my animal-fix for the day.  However, it's not a place I would just sit and lay in the grass like the Horseshoe... there are SO many ants.  EVERYWHERE.

legs or hot dogs?

Here's a photo from a few days ago, where I read and chilled in my hammock at sunset.

Ok, bye until next time!