Brisbane -Day 2

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
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8am Departure for the world famous Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!

This was probably one of the  most anticipated parts of this trip! I could not wait to hold the Koala and feed the kangaroos!

I could not wait to hold the Koala and feed the kangaroos!

We were one of the first people to arrive and the koalas were still a little sleepy! I was so excited to hold and cuddle them that I managed to leave my jacket behind! Oh well...they were worth it! One of the =things that surprised me was that their fur was soooo thick and bristly. I collected some hair samples (the reason I wore a black sweater and took off my jacket) but realized that it would have worked better if I had some scotch tape with me! (note for next time..). we walked around to see many very open areas of koalas feeding on their eucalyptus leaves and snoozing. They even had an enclosure called "Koala Kindergarten" for the younger ones!

It's how far????
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From the Koalas, we moved on to feeding the kangaroos. Many were laying on the grass soaking up some rays! Lots of ducks walked around eating up and bits of food the kangaroos dropped. One kangaroo grabbed hold of my arm as I was feeding it.  The highlight of this feeding was when I tried to scratch the head of one of the smaller kangaroos and he leaned way over and tilted his head so I could reach easier. It was a movement similar to what my cat does!!! I was enthralled!! We watched the kangaroos use their sharp front paws to dig in the dirt and leaves for food and then watched as they groomed themselves. What an experience!

Koala and Me!
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While there, we also looked for the Dingoes, large bats, emu and crocodiles. Even with losing my jacket there..this was a highlight of the trip!!!

At 10am, we went to the scenic lookout on Mt. Coot-tha. Here we had a great view of Brisbane, the Great Dividing Range and  the highest sand dunes in the world seen on Moreton Island far to the East. Then on to the gates of beautiful Mt. Coot-tha (new) Botanical gardens by 11.45AM.  Lunch was at the Gardens Cafe on the verandah overlooking the lake with local waterbirds, goannas etc. Then, a personalized tour of the flora and fauna from a volunteer guide. I'm sure I could be a trained botanist and still need years to identify all we saw, but I will try by best to update photos as soon as I can find all my notes!

Hungry Koala!
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Next, at the Brisbane Forest Park headquarters, we saw the "expanded" Walkabout Creek display of nocturnal mammals, crocodile, birds, the graceful (green) tree frog and sugar gliders (cute) and, of course, the 1800s greatest oddity - the very rare duckbill platypus. We also saw some kangaroos in the distance with a "joey" in the pocket!