Australia (2014) Day 5: Brisbane - Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Date Visited: 15th October 2014

When one visit Australia, the thing you shouldn't miss is to get up close and personal with the Aussie wildlife. What are the animals on your mind when come to Australia? Of course, none other than koalas and kangaroos especially.

It's really hard for me to resist all these cute, furry and cuddly creatures whenever I was in Australia. One of the things in my bucket list is to cuddle and take photo with the koala. It so happens that I stumble upon Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which is the world's first, oldest and largest koala sanctuary with over 130 koalas.

How To Get Here From Brisbane City

• Bus #430 from Platform 2C at Queen Street Station
• Bus #445 from Stop 40 at Adelaide Street

From Central Adelaide Street Stop 40, it takes approximately of 40 minutes to reach Lone Pine. In order to travel around Brisbane using the public transport, we purchased "go card", a contactless smart card which similar to our Touch 'n Go card. A deposit of AU$10 is required when purchasing "go card" and this card can be purchased and reloaded at the train stations, some ticket vending machines as well as few selected news agents and convenience stores which there are many of them in the city centre.

#1: Kiss the koala statue first before entering

#2: There are large variety of Australian wildlife in this well kept sanctuary. But our main interests are the koalas and kangaroos for sure. 

#3: The main character of the park. Cuteness overload!


#4: They are everywhere around the park - home for more than 130 koalas. 

Definitely not my first time of seeing koalas as I encountered twice in Melbourne when travelled alone but I never had the chance to cuddle and hold them. I mean, cuddle them like a little baby. In Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, visitors are allowed to cuddle them and take a photo at the same time. Of course, additional charge of AU$16 is applied and you will get a copy of the photo by their professional photographer. You are allowed using own personal devices to take photos right after that. 

#5: I'm so exciting to cuddle the koala. Oh boy! Oh boy!


#6: Just me and the koala. Another of my bucket list ticked off. 
It's so warm and fluffy. Can I bring back home, please?

Each of us are allowed to cuddle at least for a short of 2-3 minutes. Is it worth? Of course it's worth cause not all parts in Australia you are allowed to do so. Only certain parts like Queensland and Western Australia where you can cuddle these iconic Australia wildlife creatures. For your information, one of the sanctuary regulations is to ensure that each of these koala are not held for more than 30 minutes everyday. 

#7: Another area you shouldn't miss in this park is the Kangaroo Reserve. Must visit! 


#8: In Kangaroo Reserve, visitors like us are allowed to feed the free-roaming kangaroos. 

Most of these kangaroos are tame and friendly but then, they were few quite aggressive and savage towards the visitors. All in all, we're really having fun feeding and petting them without any barrier. 

#9: We're on time for the bird shows. Owl or fukurou in Japanese is my favourite one. 

#10: Tasmanian devil, laughing kookaburra, Southern Cassowary and wombat are among the Aussie wildlife creatures can been seen in this park. 

The park is relatively average is size and we're done sighting almost everything within 4 hours. This park is a really great place to visit especially for the family with small children as it's located not far away from Brisbane City. Another thing I have to admit that the experience of getting up close and personal with all these wildlife creatures in Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary are way better than those wildlife parks I visited in Melbourne and Sydney. So if you are going Brisbane, remember to spare a day and come visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Definitely worth the visit.

Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm daily (including all public holidays)
Admission Fee: AU$36 for adult, AU$22 for children 2 years and above and AU$24 for student and senior citizen.

Fun fact of koala: They can sleep up to 20 hours a day. So if you are manage to see them moving around, then you are consider lucky. 

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