Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane

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I thought I would tell you about some of the shows that are included in the Lone Pine Sanctuary admission price.

We were early, so made our way to the Aussie sheep dog show which is held 3 times a day, inside the Nature Kingdom.
Hours are...........
10am.....12.15pm and 3pm.

First, we had a look at some wool, then settled down on a bench to watch the Border Collie sheep dogs at work. Their master whistled and called them, and with a few hand signals, the Sheep found there way over bridges, through gates and eventually into a pen where the dog showed his skills by walking over the sheep's backs. These dogs are ever so clever, and a wonder to watch, they save the farmer a lot of hard work.

After this part of the show, then it was time to see the Shearer in action. We were told the basic details of sheep shearing, how much it has changed, and what the wages are today.
Then the shearer chose his sheep for the demonstration, and began shearing. Once finished, the wool was then thrown on the rack to be looked at and graded.

Quite interesting, more so for people that haven't experienced Sheep Shearing and herding before.

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I consider the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary the best place to see plenty of Koala's in Brisbane.

This was my 3rd visit, and an enjoyable one, as it was for my grandson's 4th Birthday.

We came by private car, but the local Brisbane bus number 445 leaves from stop 40 Adelaide Street, and number 430 leaves from Platform B4, Queen Street bus station. These stop right at the sanctuary.
Adult fares [2010] are $4.70 and children, pensioners and students are $2.40 (with valid I.D.).

Another great way, is to come by Miramar Boat which departs from the Cultural Centre Pontoon at 10:00am daily [near the state library]
The cruise takes approximately one hour & 20 mins, arriving at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at around 11:20am, and departing for the city at 1.30pm

We arrived at 9am so we could enjoy all the shows, plus browse around the animal enclosures. There are quite a few different Australian Animals, Birds and Reptiles on display.
We took our own lunch and enjoyed it on one of the picnic benches by the River.
Even if you want to buy lunch, there are quite reasonably priced meals available, and plenty of undercover seating.

There are many Koala's, some were sleeping and some were active! Feeding the Kangaroo's and Emu's is allowed, but you have to buy the food, only $2 a bag. Best to do this early in the day before they get full.
You can get plenty of good photo's of yourself and them in the open and pat them as much as you want!
Toilets are located around the sanctuary.

We all enjoyed our day here, and I think if you are from Oversea's, you definitely would enjoy some time here.

To hold a Koala and have your photo taken was $16 in 2011.

Open daily from 8:30am to 5:00pm everyday


Prices in 2012....Adult $33.00
Child (3 - 13) $22.00
Student (with Student ID card) $24.00
Family Pass (2 adults + up to 3 Children) $80.00
Family Pass (1 adult + up to 3 children) $52.00
Concession $24.00
Backpacker (with YHA, VIP etc. card) $28

Children under 3 are free.

I don't know about you. But I think the best time to eat ice cream in Australia is during winter. People from my howntown eat ice cream to keep cool. So why would I want to eat ice cream during winter? I don't know, but it just gives me a lovely feel.

My kids also had ice cream and when we were doing a little al fresco just outside of Lone Pine, the many cute birds came forward and stared at our ice cream. They then brazenly tried to steal food off us.

These birds are seemingly not too afraid of humans. But do not feed them. Rather, they can surely find their own food. Moreover, I'm sure once you start feeding the birds, they will always reply on us to provide the birds with food.

We walked around the park and chanced upon a group of kangaroos. I'm always intrigued by this creature as it's unique to Australia and no other countries. You see it on the tail wing of Qantas aircraft and it's common sight in Australian zoos.

Still, it's always a thrill whenever we come across kangaroos that are so tame, staying still to allow you to pat them.

I was there on a Tuesday but it was still crowddddded! I barely had the opportunity to see the sheep dog in action. There was also a sheep shearing

The sheep shearer was indeed skilful. In a blink of an eye, the sheep has gone 'naked'. Also, the sheep was not cut in any way. Previously when I was at the shep shearing show in Perth, the poor sheep seeme to have sustained a nasty cut. But the emcee was saying that it was alright to have a little niggles here and there, though as a spectator, you'll rather ot see blood.

Good job mate!

My family was among the first group to lodge ourselves within the hut. It was five minutes to showtime (It started on time at 12.30pm) and there was still nobody. Then like a storm, hoardes of tourists, locals and school children filled up the hut and more. Talk about coming on time!

This was one of the better shows. Actually, any show that gives me a full view of the animals or better still, come close to these animals were to me, wonderful shows. The birds really flew so close to us that their feathers literally swept past my head. You'll get to see barn owls, white bellied sea eagle, bark owl and more.

Another up-close-and-personal opportunity is where the wildlife keeper placed the birds on her hand and walked around the hut to give visitors a better view of these predators.

Great experience!

There are times that you should trust your GPS with your whole, and there are times that it should be thrown into the Brisbane River. This was one time that I felt like feeding it to the fishes.

You see, it was easy enough for the GPS to direct me to Jesmond Road. The road signs were adequate too. But somehow, my GPS could not direct me to the actual location of Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I drove up and down Jesmond Road and only managed to find the place after 30 minutes of being in the wilderness. Actually, it's not that difficult to find the place. I'm sure it's just me!

Also, just follow the directions on the Lone Pine's website (They even provide a set of photo directions) and you should be fine.

Anyway, there are ample parking spaces and

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A partly open range zoo at Fig Tree Pocket next to the river. It describes itself as a sanctuary for koalas. I am sorry but my idea of a sanctuary is acres of bushland where the animals can live untouched and free from human intervention. The main idea of this place seems to be getting the koalas out everyday for photo time with the mainly Asian visitors.

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After the Sheep Dog show, we wandered around and then went to the Bird of Prey Show which is held twice daily in the Nature Kingdom at 11:45 and 2.30.
We arrived at nearly starting time and the stands were full, so that meant sitting at the back. From here, we couldn't see very well at all, so I advise you to come at least ten minutes early and get a seat at the front.

The 1st Bird we saw, was Illuka the White-bellied sea-eagle. Where I live, we see them sometimes, but here, I was able to see them close up. She was a nice looking Bird, grey & white in colour.

Then they brought out Smudgee who is a Barn Owl. All owl species in Australia are threatened by loss of habitat but barn owls do adapt to rural area's.

Omega the Wedge-tailed eagle flew in, and what a huge wing span this Bird has!
Omega is young and very powerful. He can hunt down prey such as rabbits, juvenile kangaroos and geese.

We also saw a Barking Owl, but the Black Kite decided that it didn't want to be in the show.
All of these birds received a reward of a dead Mouse for a treat. Yummy for Birds!

This show is included in the admission price of the Park.

2011 Prices are...Adult $30.00 / Child (3 - 13) $21.00

Open daily from 8:30am to 5:00pm everyday

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The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was about a 25 minute bus ride from Queen Street.

Once inside, you are surrounded by native animals - wombats, koalas, kangaroos, lorikeets, a reptile house, emus, wild turkeys....

For $15 you can get a 5x7 photo taken with you holding a koala bear. The experience alone was worth the $15 -- we got to hold a 9 year old koala named David, and it was so amazing, just a rare opportunity so few people in the world will have!

Then, just across from where you take the photo, there is a gift shop that sells bags of kangaroo food -- buy a couple bags (they were $1 each) and head to the fenced in area just down the path.... There you will step inside and before you know it, you will be face to face with dozens of kangaroos that will eat the pellets out of your hand, let you pet them and stick around long enough to take some incredible photos.

There are also emus, some turkeys and pigeons which are COMPLETELY annoying, but it is so worth it to feed the roos! The emus will also eat the food, but the emus were as big as me, so I was too afraid to feed them!

Please be advised, wear shoes that you don't care if they get a little dirty because, naturally, there are kangaroo droppings all over the place, completely unavoidable

If you are lucky enough to take a trip to Brisbane, you must not miss this place, its beautiful