Are you ready for photos of cuddly koalas? Please meet one of my new fluffy friends that I got to hang out with a few weekends ago. I’m currently working on my Australian bucket list and it was time to get one of Australians most iconic souvenir photos: The Cuddly Koala Photos! We’ve already been to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and the Australian Zoo, but we never got around to have our photos taken with a koala. It was time to do something about it, so we went to the Cuurrumbin WIldlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast!
I accidentally booked the Koala Experience at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a silly misunderstanding, but it was honestly the best mistake that I could have done!
The Koala Experience is not only about getting your photos taken with a koala. We were only 4 people in total and got a chance to get really close to the Kolas for over 30 minutes. One of the koala careers started by showing us this cutie! She has just started to explore the world outside the safety of her moms pouch. How adorable isn’t she?
Our very knowledgeable guide, then went on telling us more about them. Did you, for example know that a newborn Koala Joey is about the same size of a jellybean and weigh around 1 gram?! The newborn Koala is then latching on to one of its mothers nipples, where it will slowly grow and develop its eyes, fur and legs.
We were then invited inside one of the Koala enclosures. Yes, that’s right! We got to get really close to the Koalas! We couldn’t touch or disturb the koalas in any way, since we were basically invited into their home.
The Koalas are really used to people, so they couldn’t care less about having us around. They just kept eating/sleeping like nobody was watching, even if we were just decimeters away! Koalas spend most of their time eating eucalyptus leaves and sleeping to preserve energy since the leaves are very low in calories.
We were free to walk around as we wanted in the enclosure for 20 mins and to take photos with them as long as they were not disturbed. Let’s just say that we got a lot of jealous looks from other people that also wanted to get close to the Koalas. You can’t get closer to (or better photos) of a koala than this!
All four of us were so busy with the Koalas at first, that it was not until the end that we realized the we were basically being watched like a caged animal in the Zoo. It was a weird realization, but it didn’t stop us from feeling like we we’re the luckiest people around. I mean, who wouldn’t like to cuddle a koala?
Our 30 minutes ended with the traditional Koala Photos. We even got to skip the queue and got to take our own photos as well! It’s normally only the on-site photographer that is allowed to take the photos. The Koala experience proved to so much better than just having your photos taken with a koala!
I’ve a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to Zoo’s, Wildlife Sanctuaries, etc. I believe that the animals well-beings is a lot more important than just satisfying peoples curiosity/wants. Every Koala at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary are only being petted by people for a maximum of 30 minutes a day and get’s 1 or 2 days off a week (can’t remember which). They are also being left alone if the koala is pregnant/caring for a baby/not feeling well etc.
The Koalas are so used to humans that they didn’t seem to care about being held/petted. It’s also a way for the Sanctuary to bring in more money and hence being able to help more animals. The Sanctuary rescue wild koalas that have been injured (mostly hit by cars) and provide them with a temporary shelter before they are well enough to be released back to the wild.
I’m so happy that I accidentally booked the Koala Experience at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary! It proves that it can even be a good thing to make a mistake once in a while!
What’s the cutest animal that you have ever gotten close to?
What: The Koala Experience
Where: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Gold Coast.
When: The sanctuary is open 8-5pm, 7 days a week (closed on Christmas and Anzac Day). You will be given an exact time for the koala experience when you’re booking it.
How: The Koala experience need to be booked in advanced by calling 07 5534 0803.
Price: $79 which includes both the entry and the Koala experience. It’s almost the same price as a general admission ticket (adult) and a normal photo with a Koala, so it’s better doing the Koala experience if you want the photo as well.