The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is a lovely little place in the outskirts of Brisbane. It’s actually the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary, but it’s also the home to many kangaroos, wallabies, freshwater crocodiles, birds, dingo’s, lizards, snakes and other native Australian animals. It has pretty much all the kind of animals that you’ll want to see. I was so excited to finally see all of the cute and weird Australian animals that I had always heard of! I felt like a kid again.

The atmosphere is very relaxed, easy going and there are no crowds (apart from one annoying school group of 10 year olds that was screaming with excitement, but we thankfully managed to avoid them). I even felt cut off from the rest of the world and like I was a part of the natural surroundings. The Sanctuary is surrounded by forest and there’s no hustle, city noises or stress of the outside world. I also felt so much closer to the animals than at the normal zoo. Most animals are naturally in enclosures, but most of them are not fenced off. There’s just a small barrier to make sure that the animals get the space that they need.

I really appreciate that it didn’t feel like a flashy Zoo with thrilling attractions and animal shows accompanied by a loud soundtrack (Yes Steve Irwin, I mean you). The main focus is on the animals and to provide them a much needed sanctuary from the never-ending decline of habitual areas.

My favorite part of the Sanctuary was the kangaroos and wallabies enclose where you can freely walk around the animals and give them a cuddle.I’m still struggling to tell the difference between a kangaroo and a wallaby (wallabies are basically a smaller size kangaroo), but it doesn’t matter. They are still cute, soft and very friendly. You can also buy a bag of kangaroo food for $2 at the gift shop and it’s something that I’ll recommend you to do. It was so much fun to feed them and it’s obviously a lot easier to pet them if you have food in your hands. It was really interesting to see how the animals had different strategies to get hold of the food.

Lone Pine is also one of the few places in the world that let you pet and holds a kola. Don’t worry though; the koala petting is much regulated and every petting koala only gets petted for a very short amount time and they get plenty of rest in-between sessions. They also run talks and planned feedings throughout the day. The talks are pretty basics and are more suitable for kids or people with no earlier knowledge of the subject.


The Dingos were the only animals that felt like that they should have a bigger/better enclosure. They obviously require a lot more space and stimulation than, for example the koalas that doesn’t really move and spend most of their time either sleeping or eating.

What: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Where: 708 Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket QLD. It takes about 20-30 minutes from Central Brisbane.
When: 9-5pm, 7 days a week.
How: Car or a catch a direct bus from Brisbane (check Translink for a timetable).
Price: $35 as an adult. There’s a few cheaper options if you are a student etc.