Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary- A Great Place to Cuddle a KoalaLone Pine Koala Sanctuary is home to 130 koalas, numerous kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, dingoes and many species of Australian birds making it a great place to visit if you are spending any time in Brisbane. It is one of my favourite things to do in Brisbane.The koalas are kept in various enclosures depending on age and sex. There is a kindergarden with the young koalas, a retirement home for the over 10 year olds, a bachelor pad and an area for the young female koalas. It is a great idea to be in the park between about 1pm and 2.30pm as this is when the eucalyptus branches are replaced in the koala enclosures. The koalas are at their liveliest at this time as they are very keen to get the fresh leaves and begin eating them. It is great to watch them as they really pay attention to the keepers bringing the branches. Many of them will be "jumping" around the wooden structures in their enclosures or even "running" about on the ground. There is a large area where the kangaroos and wallabies are kept and you can buy food at the cafe to feed them. The kangaroos are very tame and will very happily eat from your hand and allow you to stroke them. There are also some emus in this area which seemed to be tame enough but I wasn't brave enough to try feeding them. The area covered by Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is not too large and is very easy to get around. If you don't have much time to spare you could see most of it in an hour or two, alternatively you could easily spend four or five hours if you want to take your time, have a break for lunch and see some of the presentations and activities that are on throughout the day. There is a cafe in the park which serves hot and cold drinks, chips, snacks and some sandwiches. The choice is not huge so it isn't a bad idea to take a picnic which you can either eat inside the park or at one of the picnic tables just outside the main entrance overlooking the river. There are also a couple of free BBQs in this area. Next to the cafe is a souvenir shop selling all the usual souvenirs such as cuddly koalas, kangaroos and T-shirts and a selection of cold drinks, crisps and ice-creams. On the way out look out for the chatty cockatoo which will say bye-bye to you as you pass its cage. It really is a funny bird. The park is open from 8.30am - 5pm every day except Christmas Day when it is open from 8.30am till 4pm and Anzac Day when it opens at 1.30pm. Getting to Lone Pine Koala SanctuaryLone Pine Koala Sanctuary is only 11km from the city and is very easy to get to either by bus, car or boat. By bus you can get the 430 from stop 116A outside the Casino on George Street or the 445 from stop 11 on Ann Street. The 430 runs once an hour every day and the 445 only runs Mon - Sat. You can get the bus timetables from the Visitors Information Transit Section on Queen Street Mall.By car, from the city get onto Milton Road and onto the Western Freeway taking the Fig Tree Pocket exit and then follow signs for Lone Pine. You can get there by boat as it is just along the river from the city. The Miramar Boat Cruise departs from the pontoon at the front of the State Library at 10am daily, arrives at Lone Pine at about 11.20 am and then departs from Lone Pine at 1.30pm. You can make bookings by phone on 1300 729 742. We didn't use this method of transport as we felt that it wouldn't actually give us enough time in the park. For up to date information about the park take a look at the official Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary website. Return to the Brisbane Tourism page. |
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