Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

 While Matt was in China, Derek, Rylie and I took Kristina to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

 We got to Lone Pine early to make sure and be able to get the opportunity to hold a koala (we had heard they can sell out). After purchasing the koala holding photo we went to feed the kangaroos. We learned that the best time to feed the kangaroos are in the morning when they are hungry. By the afternoon the kangaroos are full. At one point Derek had 5 kangaroos who were all trying to eat from his hand. It is still just so amazing to be able to feed and pet and get up close to these amazing animals!!

After feeding the kangaroos we went to feed the lorikeets. Rainbow lorikeets are beautiful birds. We first saw them in St. Kilda, but were not able to get up close to them. The Zoo keeper told us to hold on to the feeding plate because tons of lorikeets were going to swarm the plate. She also warned us not to touch them because they were wild. Good thing she warned us because the minute the food was in the plate hundreds of lorikeets came to feed. It was SO amazing to see the birds up close and to hear them. The video I took was so fun to watch. Both kids were able to hold the feeding plates. Two birds even landed on Derek's head!! 

Here I am reminding the kids to hold on tight because the feeding tray was going to get heavy. ;)

I love the look on Derek's face.

 Look at the colors of the bird.

 Holding a koala was so amazing. It was something that I really wanted to do during our time in Australia. They are so soft and cuddly, but surprisingly heavy. The keepers said they are dense because of the leaves that they eat. We had to stand a certain way and hold our hands firmly like a platform and the keeper put the koala in our hands with his arms on our shoulders, giving us a hug. It was hard to hold still. The kids were given a "kid" friendly koala and got to sit down to hold him. The fur in the koala's ear was tickling the kids' faces. :) I am glad we were able to have this experience!!!

 We saw lots of water dragons. They are everywhere and you have to watch out where you step. Thankfully they are scared of humans so they run away when you get too close. Some of they are quite large!

We went to a sheep dog show where we watched 2 dogs round up the sheep into the pens. Then we were able to feel the thick and soft wool of the sheep.

  Emu

 There were so many koalas at Lone Pine. It was neat to watch them. We got lucky and saw several of the koalas eating and climbing and even jump from tree to tree. They are so cute!!

 What a fun day with this silly crew!! It was so nice to have Kristina join us for the day!!

The kids love her and she is so good with them!