Brisbane- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

[CruiserPK]

Has anyone visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary? It looks very nice and we are considering this for our shore excursion in Brisbane. Any information would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers, Pam

[Tripmaven]

It has been a few years since we visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, but I do recall an enjoyable afternoon.

 

We took the river boat from Brisbane, which alone was very relaxing. Once at the sanctuary we were impressed with the project and the care of the Koalas.

 

The animal care people are very protective of the little creatures and taught us about their sensitivity. We realized that as cute as they are, they are still "wild animals" who need to be respected as such.

 

I am assuming it is a 1/2 day tour. If so, it is worth a visit. Enjoy!

[CruiserPK]

Thanks so much for the information. There is no ship tour available, but I read about Lone Tree in one of my travel guides for Australia. It recommends the ferry for transportation. We will definately take our chances and try this for stop in Brisbane next February.

Cheers, Pam

[Kinkacruiser]

It really should be an option for a shore excursion as it's a lot closer that the Australia Zoo, which was/is a popular choice for visitors.

The ferry ride is definitely pleasant to Lone Pine, but check the times as it may get back too late to rejoin your cruise.

Years ago, there was a trained German Shepherd who greeted visitors. He or she had a young koala straddled on his back. I hope you get to see that. Enjoy Brisbane and your cruise.

Cheers,

Anna

[Yungs]

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is worth a visit. We have an annual pass and go reasonably often, the kids love it and the adults don't half mind it either! It is a pleasant day out and there is a large open area which houses lots of (around 30-40?) kangaroos, you get to hand feed them and that is lots of fun. There are also wallabies and emus. My husband loves feeding the emus but I'm too afraid!

 

Koalas feature prominently obviously and they have recently added a large area out the back of the restaurant (go past the kiosk where they sell food, keep going further inside and there is a covered area with lots of tables and chairs for you to eat at - the allure of that area is that it is entirely surrounded by little trees with koalas dozing in them! The keepers actually place the koalas there each day so you can watch them whilst you eat. I will hunt around for a photo of the area if anyone is interested, and post it on here. In a separate section they allow you to cuddle the koalas and you can have your photo taken with them.

 

 

The bird of prey free flight show is also very good, they have a white bellied sea eagle and wedge tailed eagle, barn owls and other birds which fly from afar to the handler's glove and catch bits of meat thrown up in the air to them. They also get one of the owls to fly right through the crowd - the bird flies so close to the top of your head you can feel him swoosh through.

 

Dont miss out on the lorikeet feeding too - thats good fun. Wild rainbow lorikeets come to feed off the platters and you can pick up a platter with birds on it, or they come to you. Depending on the season, you may get many birds or very few - if there are lots of other blooms around ie. in spring, they dont tend to come because there is lots of other food around for them.

 

I dont know that I would recommend the ferry for transport - as far as I know there is only one round trip a day ie. one drop off and one pickup by the ferry. Might be too hard to fit into your schedule. There is a bus that goes there, here is the information on the bus http://www.koala.net/index.php?/visiting/bus.html The other option is to go by ferry and return by bus/taxi.

 

Oh and I dont think they have the German Shephard anymore - we've been going for the last 2 years and haven't ever seen it! Have a great time!

[JLT]

Thank you for this extensive information. This is what we are planning for our day in Brisbane and I feel more comfortable knowing just what to expect and how to get there.

[Yungs]

You're very welcome! We think they do a good job with the limited resources they have (I believe they also rehabilitate injured animals) so we try to support them when we can.

 

Here are some photos - found one also of the sheep dog demonstration. It's a quick demonstration but still very fun to watch. I think they may now also do a sheep shearing demonstration.

[jagoodbar]

Has anyone visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary? It looks very nice and we are considering this for our shore excursion in Brisbane. Any information would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers, Pam

 

My wife Carol and I visited Lone Pine while vacationing in Brisbane in August of 2001. It was one of the highlights of our vacation. We live in San Diego and the zoo here gets it's koala's from Lone Pine. They have lots of other animals to see and there is a hugh fenced in area full of kangaroos which you can hand feed for a nominal fee. If we go back to Brisbane, we will go back to Lone Pine.