The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

On Saturday we decided to do some good old fashion site seeing. Armed with a fistful of tourist brochures from the hotel, we ventured to coffee and a breakfast pie – a surprisingly delicious mini pot pie of sorts filled any and everything and topped with mashed potatoes, gravy, and smashed peas- at Pie Face.  We initially were going to go beer tasting at a local brewery but sadly they were all booked so we moved on to our other top option—The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary—Boasting 130 Koalas and unique experience.

I have to say that it was one of the coolest things that I have ever done and will definitely be dragging all of my visitors to experience it. I am already looking into an annual membership.

 

 

Birds

When you first walk in you are immediately greeted by free flying lorikeets and various parrot-ish bright colored birds. They are no enclosed in anyway but I suppose hang around for the free food. They were not at all disturbed by our presence and were more than happy to pose for a few photos. Throughout the sanctuary, there were all sorts of Aussie birds – most of which I cant recall the name of so I will just post cute pictures.

Kangaroos

The next stop was the Kangaroo field. That’s right, its exactly what it sounds like, a very large field of Kangaroos. And you get to walk amongst them, feed them and pet them. They are enclosed but in a very large space. Much like the lorikeets, they did not mind us in the least. The ones that were ready to nosh actually approached us hoping to be fed. Kangaroos are funny funny creatures. When they are not in a hurry, they walk on four legs –leaning forward quite a but to put their little arms down and move themselves forward. Think of an old 90 year old man hunged over with a cane and you’ve got it. And they move at a similar pace. However, when they have somewhere to be (aka when someone drops a feed bag and they sense a large food supply) they hop which is a quite agile and speedy movement –much more graceful and athletic. But perhaps the most surprising behavior was their proclivity to lounge like, well, like we do. The lay down on their sides, legs long, and prop up on their elbows as if they were posing from some seductive boudoir photo. Its hilarious. And when feeling particularly secure, one will roll on its back, all four legs up in the air as if playing dead. They’ll stay like that for a minute or two and then return to the aforementioned lounge position.

Wallabies

Wallabies are like mini kangaroos – shorter in stature and narrower in build. They also have different color markings. To be completely honest, we didn’t even know it was a wallaby that we were meeting until well after – I just assumed it was a baby or special kind of kangaroo. It was not. So my apologies go out to the wallaby kind for mistaking them. They were cute but way less personable than the Roos. In fact they were quite shy and seemed fairly anxious.

Wombats

All I want for Christmas is a Wombat. So I have to say, before I came here I declared that I wanted a pet wombat. I showed people pictures and met lots of skepticism when I tried to convince everyone that they are cute loveable animals and not overgrown rodents. Admittedly, they look like a smaller version of that forest monster rodent in the Princess Bride but in an incredibly cute way. Both Lisa and I melted at the site of them. They look friendly and innocent and you just have this urge to give them a huge hug. They are about the size in width/girth of a small pig and the height of a small-medium sized dog. Sadly, you could not pet the wombat at Lone Pine. But I am not giving up my quest to adopt one. And after meeting them, there is no way I could eat one.

Koalas

They weren’t kidding –there were LOTS of Koalas-at least 130. They were organized into little Koala huts out in the open with small rails keeping you from climbing in and taking one home –foiled again!  The huts grouped like koalas together- there was the Kindergarten Koalas, the Girls Club, the Boys Club, The Bachelor Pad, The Brides to Be, The mums and bubs, the Retirement Home, and probably several more that I am forgetting.

 Some were sleeping, some were climbing, some were playing and others were voraciously eating.

They were adorable, slow moving, laid back creatures who seemed not to have a care in the world. 

And the best part…wait for it…you can hold one! They rotate a small group of the koalas with the best temperament into the holding line. They weigh about what you would expect a child of that size to weigh, they grip you tightly so they don’t fall and they just sit, content in your arms. Their fir looks like it would feel wooly but they were actually quite soft – their fir really felt like a stuffed animal. We didn’t buy the commemorative photo this time but stay tuned for a future one.

Tasmanian Devils

These guys were just as cute as I expected them to be. They were a little bigger than expected – about the size of a small dog. They seemed sleepy and didn’t do a whole lot but were still worth seeing.

 

 

 

Dingos

All you dog lovers out there be prepared. These pups are gorgeous! They have a regal feel about them while still being raw and strong  - they were somewhere between a German Shepherd and the wolves from that old Kevin Costner movie. GORGEOUS.  I want one. It will just have to live in a different room than my wombat because it is apparently true that they hunt and eat anything – small mammals, bats, any animal smaller than it, small children. Yup. But I still plan to tame one.

Fox Bats

We almost skipped the bats all together. I have never been a fan of bats and it was the last thing on the way out, but I am so glad I didn’t. These guys are adorable.  Picture a fox shrunk down to the size of a kitten with wings. They come in black, grey, and red and are very furry—surprisingly loveable. I couldn’t get a good picture of one so I found one online.

There were endless amounts of fascinating new creatures to meet and in the excitement of it all, I have to admit that I don’t remember them all. To them, I apologize. 

Now that you have met all of my new friends, you have a little insight into the adventure you will experience when you come visit! Lone Pine will definitely be on the must see list.