Koalas and Platypuses and Dingos; Oh My!

Cruise to the Sanctuary

We were asleep by 8pm last night but I was awake by 5am. It gave me time to exercise, shower and get some business contracts done.

Breakfast at the hostel begins at 8:00am,  we grab some yogurt, granola and fruit and head out at 8:10am for our 30 minute walk to the Brisbane River to catch a scenic boat cruise to the Loan Pine Koala Sanctuary.  

On our seventy five minute cruise to the sanctuary, we pass through some exclusive, high-end riverfront neighbourhoods.

Visit with the Platypus

The sanctuary is fabulous, filled with Australian wildlife.

The platypus is adorable; smaller than I expected. It swims around the tank almost like an otter. Click here for a short video.

There are lizards and bush turkeys all over the place… especially congregating around the eating area where they hope to get scraps. They definitely have no fear of humans.

Koala Encounter

I booked a koala encounter experience.  You get to be up close with a koala and to stroke it’s fur. My koala buddy is an eleven year old male named Spoon. Koalas live to be around ten or eleven years in the wild and fifteen in captivity.

Spoon is a sweet gentle soul who is very soft and has a light musky smell that is not unpleasant.

We see a lot of Koalas throughout the day. Click here for a short video.

Amorous Urkel

At the entrance to the free range area for kangaroos and emus is a sign warning us about a friendly but amorous emu named Urkel. He is a young male who has been making romantic  overtures to tourists. We are warned not to encourage him. I check myself before entering to make sure not too much cleavage is showing.

Up Close and Personal with the Kangaroos

The kangaroos eat right out of our hands. Their mouths are soft and gentle on my palms and they seem to enjoy being petted and scratched between their ears. Their fur is soft.

Dingos and More

We check out the dingo enclosure but they are all out on walks. Fortunately they are back when we return They look just like pet dogs.

We see all manner of cockatoos, birds, bats, and other animals and watch the crocodile show. The only animals that we weren’t able to see were the Tasmanian Devil’s and wombats who are nocturnal and stayed hidden in their dens during the heat of the day.

Heading Back to Brisbane

We have lunch on the boat as we head back down Brisbane River. There are no crocodiles in the river as the water is too cold. But there are occasionally sharks as the river is tidal and quite salty.

By mid-afternoon I am feeling tired. Jet lag. Agh.

Brisbane Botanic Gardens

Once we get back to central Brisbane, we order an Uber to take us to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha.

It is late afternoon and the gardens are not crowded. Wild lizards and bush turkeys are all over the place. They are like our squirrels.

The gardens are beautiful, especially the Japanese gardens which are exquisite. The sensory gardens are also well done.

I am tired. It is time to head back. We grab a bite and head back to pack for an early morning flight.