Australia Part I: Brisbane and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Well our NZ adventure is coming close an end with just a couple months to go before we come home to Canada. The weather is starting to get a bit colder in New Zealand, so we decided to head for a warmer climate and check out Australia.  Rob went to a Trauma conference in Melbourne a few days ahead of the rest of the family.  Melbourne is a very livable city, #1 for the past 6 years!  From the little time he spent there, Rob agreed.

We met in Brisbane and took a boat ride to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  We were able to see over 140 koalas.  Queensland is the only state in Australia that still allows people to hold koalas.  They can only be held for 30 minutes a day and get every 4th day off.  The staff keep a close eye on them to make sure they are not getting upset.  Jonah and Naysa were able to take a picture with a real koala. It's like a live teddy bear!  But they aren't bears...they are marsupials.  The locals make that very clear.  They also sleep a LOT...up to 22 hours a day! It has to do with the fact that Eucalytpus leaves have toxins and very little nutritional value, so they use a lot of energy digesting their food..

The zoo also has lots of kangaroos that you can pet and feed!  

We also saw dingos, lizards, tasmanian devils, platypus, emus, wombats and lots of birds.  It was a pretty high yield afternoon.

Uncle Michel and Aunt Ann then hosted us for the next week.  Uncle Michel drove up 2 and a half hours to pick us up and drive us to their home in Lennox Head, New South Wales.  We are pretty lucky to have family in this area of the world to show us around.