Koalas: the masters of tree-hugging and eucalyptus munching! - Watch them at Lone Pine

Jane Liang

Last updated 9 Jun 2023

Perhaps you’ve never had the honour of seeing a real-life wild koala before (just a heads up: it’s cuter than on TV), or perhaps you’re an animal lover and want to prove it to others.

Enter Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Spanning 18 hectares and housed in Brisbane, it’s been dubbed the world’s largest and oldest koala sanctuary and is best known for three things:

Being the first establishment to focus on creating an environment specifically catered towards koalas
Their strong belief in the importance and conservation of Australia’s natural flora and fauna - in their own words, “The earth is not only for humans”
Is accredited by the Zoo and Aquarium Association for positive animal welfare. The health and well-being of the sanctuary’s animals are at the forefront of everything they do, along with their extensive research and conservation efforts

So if you want to get up and personal with these unique marsupials and are keen also to see what other wildlife Lone Pine has to offer, bring forth your best game/snuggle face and read on.

What to expect when you go

1. Koalas, koalas, and more koalas

Name one animal with grey fur, looks adorable and has a fresh eucalyptus scent - it's a koala!

On average, these little guys tend only to have 30 minutes a day to spare, saving the rest of their 23.5 hours to focus on the really important things, i.e. sleeping, eating, and digesting.

Oh, to live that kind of lifestyle!

Did you know that koalas have pouches like a kangaroo?

Well, now you know! Classified under the mammalian category, koalas have a lifespan of up to 15 years. Contrary to popular belief, koalas are not bears but rather marsupials, meaning they have a pouch and give birth to underdeveloped offspring called joeys. What a cute little name!

After a gestation period of 33-35 days, the tiny pink, hairless joey, weighing only one gram, is born and immediately climbs into its mother's pouch, where it attaches to a teat and remains for about six months.

At around six months of age, the fully-furred joey emerges from the pouch to begin exploring its surroundings and gradually learns to consume eucalyptus leaves. By 12 months, the joey is completely weaned and becomes independent from its mother.

Koalas have a specialized diet of eucalyptus leaves, consuming approximately 50 out of the 800 species that grow in Australia. They possess unique bacteria in their gut to aid in the digestion of these otherwise toxic leaves.

Although low in nutrition, eucalyptus leaves have high water content, reducing the koalas' need to seek alternate water sources. A single koala can consume up to 500 grams of leaves per day.

At Lone Pine, you are not only able to see these furry creatures closely, but also you are welcome to sponsor these animals! It is a perfect way to support our wildlife as well as their wild counterparts.

Lone Pine takes pride in being home to Sarah, one of the world's oldest captive koalas, who lived an incredible 23 years.

2. The other animals

Don’t be misled by its name - whilst the sanctuary houses up to 130 koalas, there is actually a huge variety of other native Aussie animals who also call Lone Pine home. When visiting the sanctuary, don’t forget to show some love to the other furry (and non-furry) residents, including:

Platypus - these elusive but friendly guys can be found chilling in a swimming tank located in the dark house situated to the far right corner of the park (also keep an eye out for some snakes on the opposite side of the room!)
Kangaroos - what kind of Aussie wildlife place would it be without the presence of the nation’s other most iconic animal? A large number of these marsupials happily reside within a massive open-fenced enclosure located within Lone Pine - you’ll be able to find kangaroos of all ages, ranging from joeys, mothers, and adolescents, to the fiercer male kangaroos (just make sure you don’t get too close to these ones!) If you’re keen, there is also an option to feed them as well - kangaroo food is available for purchase at the Lone Pine shop. We recommend getting there in the morning if you want to feed them, as kangaroos are typically fairly lazy and tend to fill up their bellies early on in the day before snoozing their way through the afternoon
Emus - you can find them wandering around at the kangaroo enclosure, these guys will complete the holy trinity of iconic Aussie animals

There are so, SO many other animals at Lone Pine, it would be too hard to go into detail about all of them. The list can really go on and one, but visitors will also typically be able to see dingos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, wild lorikeets, possums, scrub turkeys, echidnas, Australia’s biggest lizard, and many more.

3. Know your show schedule

You’d be a fool to visit Lone Pine but not take a peek at one of their many shows. These are not to be missed, although you may want to balance out your wandering times with the scheduled times of the shows. These may sometimes be subject to change, but the general schedule is as per below:

9:45am & 4:00pm: Wild Lorikeet Feeding
10:00am: Barn Animal Encounter
10:30am & 12:30pm: Free Flight Raptor Show
11:00am, 1:00pm & 3:30pm: Sheep Dog Show
11:00-11:30am: FREE 'Meet a Koala'
11:30am & 2:00pm: Koala Keeper Talk
12:00pm: Snake Photos
1:30pm: Snake Keeper Talk
1:30-2:00pm: FREE 'Meet a Koala'
2:30pm: Platypus Keeper Talk
3:00pm: Tasmanian Devil Keeper Talk

4. Food and shop options

At Lone Pine there are no real limitations - there exists a multitude of places to sit and eat, with a bulk of these lunch areas located right next to koalas.

The sanctuary offers an abundance of places to sit and eat for a more outdoors experience, and an onsite cafe is located at Lone Pine, offering chips and sausage sizzles for family-oriented visitor groups during the weekend, as well as healthier options such as sandwiches for singular visitors and school groups during weekdays.

5. Movies and markets

On the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month, Lone Pine runs a market from 4-8 pm - albeit subject to change depending on seasons, so take careful note of when you are visiting. These activities are held both within the zoo, as well as run as separate activities.

In conclusion...

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is definitely not to be missed either among local Brisbanites or visitors to Brisbane. To be able to view such an iconic Aussie species, almost a huge variety of animals, is a privilege - to be able to do so within the confines of a safe, responsible, and ethical environment is a blessing.

How to get there

Lone Pine is located 12 kilometres from Brisbane, on 708 Jesmond Road at Fig Tree Pocket, Queensland 4069

It’s situated just a couple of minutes away from the Western Freeway, so this is perfect for both interstate and overseas travelers arriving by car, coming via either the CBD or the airport - self-driving will take roughly 15 minutes. If you’re coming in via the Gold Coast, it will take a little longer at 1 hour

By Public Bus: take bus number 430 from Platform 2C, Queen Street Station or Bus number 445 from Stop 41, Adelaide Street

By River Cruise: The Mirimar Boat Cruise departs from the Cultural Centre Pontoon (South Bank) daily

Lone Pine opening hours

Mon - Fri: 9:00am to 5:00pm

Public holidays: 1:30pm to 5:00pm

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