After waking up at 4 am to get on a plane from Christchurch to Brisbane, we arrived and were picked up at the airport by Wally, a relative of Diana’s. It turns out that Diana’s mom and Wally had been talking for years because they both were interested in learning about their ancestors and traced their family tree back to a very small village in Ukraine. They believe that Diana’s great grandfather and Wally’s grandfather were cousins or something like that. We went back to Wally and his wife Bev’s house to drop off our luggage and then Wally kindly drove us to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary.
When we arrived, they told us that unfortunately the photos holding a koala had been sold out for the day, but that there was a koala meet and greet that you could go to and still pet them and get photos for free. We walked around the sanctuary for a little bit and got to watch several koalas eating, which was really adorable. Then, we went to eat lunch and bought some kangaroo food as well. Around the park, there were turkeys walking around everywhere, but they looked slightly different from the wild turkeys we see in the US. They especially tried to get french fries from us while we were eating.
After lunch we went back to the koala pavilion for the koala meet and greet. We waited with excitement until we were able to go up and pet the koala that the park ranger held. It was soft, but not like I had imagined. The koala felt more like a really plush, thick carpet.
Then, we went over to the kangaroo feeding area. It was just a very large area where there were emus, kangaroos, and wallabies that could walk around freely and people could go up to them and pet them and feed them. There was an area where humans were not allowed where a lot of the kangaroos and wallabies were resting, but several were out walking (or hopping) around or laying in the dirt. We went around and pet and fed as many of them as we could. This turned out to be one of my favorite things at the park. The kangaroos were really soft and I loved getting to watch them hop around, scratch themselves, and do kangaroo things. There was even one with a joey in her pouch and we could see its legs sticking out!
After leaving the kangaroo feeding area, we went to see a couple platypuses swimming around in their enclosures which were in a dark building. We also went to see wombats, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, crocodiles, and many different types of birds. I was really glad that I got to see a lot of the animals that are unique to Australia!
After leaving Lone Pine, we took the bus back to the central Brisbane area. At the bus station there was a bubble tea shop, so of course I had to get one! I also got a SIM card for my phone to use while I’m in Australia. Then, Diana and I had a little bit of time to walk around the area before Wally was going to pick us up. We walked down a few streets and by the Brisbane River before crossing over the bridge. The city has a very different feel than Christchurch with all the tall buildings, but it was still nice to walk around.
That night, we had dinner with Wally and Bev, their son and daughter-in-law, Marty and , and their three kids. They were all incredibly welcoming and nice and after dinner, Marty and offered to drive us around to see the city at night. We went to a few different look out spots that gave us a great view of the lit up city and showed just how big it really is. It was so fun getting to talk to them and see the city from all different angles. But, after this long day I was really tired, so after getting back we got to sleep pretty quickly.
Hammond Adventures 