The earth is not only for humans (Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Brisbane, Australia))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Brisbane, Australia)
Date:	14/05/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cuddle a koala, hold other animals, hand-feed kangaroos, brilliant Aussie experience

Disadvantages: None whatsoever

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is an animal park set in the natural wildlife of Brisbane, Australia. This was one of the main reasons that we stopped off in Brisbane as it is the world's first and largest koala sanctuary, and home to over 130 of the cute little animals.

The koalas can be found in their own homes all over the sanctuary where they are separated by age and gender including the teenage boys, kindergarten and the retirement home. Due to the fact that they sleep 19 hours a day, the koalas will more than likely be asleep in the fork of a tree when you pay them a visit but, as this is their natural habit, this is the only place you would want to see them.

The main reason for the popularity of the park is the fact that you get the opportunity to hold and cuddle a koala. Many celebrities have taken part in this experience including Janet Jackson and even the Pope. You won't find this experience in many other places in Australia as koala cuddling is banned in New South Wales so the chance to do this really is very unique and a great Aussie experience. There are a range of options you can choose from including a big photo in a cardboard frame ($16), big calendar ($10), 8 postcards ($10) or a pack of 10 varied sized photos ($20). You can have the photo either alone or with anyone else you wish and the professional photographer will take a couple of snaps and print out the best one. The great thing about this is that you also get the time to take a few of your own snaps so that you have more memories of it and you get a bit longer with your koala. My husband and I each took turns in holding the koala on our own whilst the other took photos and then the photographer took our photo together for the main picture. They can get a little agitated after being held by a few different people but our one was lovely and friendly for us and just sat its bum in our hands without a care in the world. They're really soft and they actually put their arms around you and cuddle you back -I really wanted to take it home with me! They do smell a little bit though but it was so cute that this didn't matter a bit.

If you're not a koala fan you can also have your picture taken with some other animals including snakes, baby crocs and birds of prey.

At the back end of the park, there are huge fields covering 5 acres of land, containing hundreds of kangaroos and wallabies. You can buy bags of food to feed them with and this is also a very unique Aussie experience. They're all very friendly and will happily eat the food out of your hand and let you stroke them at the same time. We were feeding them for ages as there were so many and this is a wonderful thing for children as well as adults.

Various Shows take place at set times throughout the day including a sheep dog show and bird of prey show. The bird of prey show is a definite to see where you can view some huge birds swooping down from miles away and flying straight over your head.

Other native Australian residents of the sanctuary are echidnas (similar to hedgehogs), snakes, emus, wombats, Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, fruit bats and some gorgeous dingoes which you can stroke as they take their daily walk. At certain times of the day the beautiful rainbow lorikeet birds are fed and, if you're standing nearby to witness this, you will almost be deafened with their screeching.

There's a great café that sells hot and cold food and drinks and you can sit here and eat your lunch with all sorts of creatures walking around your feet including peacocks, chickens and huge lizards. Just be careful that they don't steal your lunch!

Entry prices are $25 (£12) for adults and $19 (£9) for children but, if you have a backpacker's card, you can receive 15% off.

It's not too far out of the centre of town, about a 15 minute drive, and hidden away down winding tree-filled lanes. You can take bus numbers 445 or 430 from the town centre, a taxi which will cost you about $20-25, or some hostels will drive you there for free.

Of all the wildlife parks and sanctuaries we visited whilst in Australia, this was easily one of the best. The connection and closeness you get with the animals is like nowhere else and, for this reason alone, this makes the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary one of the best Australian wildlife experiences.

Summary: Have some unique Aussie experiences at one of the best Australian wildlife parks