Australia Zoo - Cuddly Koala

The main attraction for us was the cute and cuddly koalas, everyone’s favourite sleepy bears…but they’re NOT actually bears!! They’re marsupials - animals with pouch bones that carry young in pouches – a blog and a school lesson for you, all rolled in one. There were a few koala pens dotted around the zoo, including a koala walk, where you could pat some koalas. There were loads more than I imagined, not all were visible because they were so far up trees, but then on some trees there were so many you could barely see the branches. Nicola and I also managed to have a photo hugging a koala, but that was taken on an official Australia Zoo camera and we had to buy the photo, so when we access a scanner we can update you all with that photo – we became the koala’s tree…proper emotional. Word of warning, if you are planning on hugging a koala, wear something old, especially if you’re hugging a male koala as they have scent glands on their front…and you end up stinking…we washed a few times but still smelt like pot-pourri.

If you’re wondering how they feel, imagine something soft and fluffy, with springy fur (and sharp claws) and you’re about right…except, you haven’t really hugged anything until you’ve hugged a koala; life changing (slight exaggeration). Definitely the highlight of Australia Zoo.