Brisbane and Koalas

Bunny was well enough to make the trip to the Koala Sanctuary. We almost missed the tour because there was a 10 minute walk to get off the ship, and through the terminal. They should have mentioned that! I didn’t get the front seat because we were late. I like to sit there because I never know when I’ll get car sick sitting in the back. We were in second row and I could look out the front window, so it wasn’t so bad. The city of Brisbane sits on the Brisbane River and it about 45 minutes from the port. The port and most of the area around it is very industrial. We hadn’t expected that. I but took us on a quick tour of the city, no stops to see anything. We arrived at the Lone Pine Sanctuary. We went directly to the koala exhibit. We saw many koalas, none completely awake. I finally found one who looked like he was awake for a photo. We queued up and the keeper brought out a wide awake one who was hungry. We each got to pet the a koala and get our picture taken.
‘I was thinking we got to hold the koala. Turns out you could pay to do that but by the time I asked about it, they were booked up. Guess I should have done my own research. I’m usually a day late and a dollar short on things like this..From the koalas we walked over to the kangaroo area. It was a huge open, grassy area, where you could pet and feed the ‘Roos. We each got a picture of us petting a kangaroo. It was pretty hot and steamy at the preserve. I started to get overheated so we went to the cafe. I’m still leery of eating off the ship, as is Bunny. So I ordered a Diet Coke and we each had an apple cinnamon muffin. The baker must have waved an apple over it, But it was enough to get us through.When we sat at a table, a bird came to the back of a chair at our table and just started staring at us. He wouldn’t take NO for an answer. Pretty soon a big Water Dragon lizard came along. He was a huge guy. Then 2 Bushwacker turkeys. Bunny almost had a piece of muffin taken from her fork. It landed on the table. I gave a small piece to the bird. Then Bunny threw the rest on the ground. The lizard and bird fought over it. They each got some of it. The turkeys were clueless of the whole thing. It was time to get back on the bus. We took a different way into the city to see different things. By seeing them I mean trying to find them while we drove by. We did make a quick stop at an overlook where we could get some photos. It was called Scout Place and there was a statue of a boy in his scout uniform saluting the flagpole with no flag on it.. Then it was back to the ship. I had tried to find a furry koala that I could hook on to my backpack at the Sanctuary. There were plastic ones but no furry one. I had one last chance at the gift shop in the terminal building. We found koalas and kangaroos but they didn’t have the hook for the back pack. We got them anyway. Then I found a package of 12 little ones with the hooks. So I got those too. There were Christmas ornaments with the dot painting made by Aborigines, had to get one of those since they were on sale. Then I found some emu oil cream. I wanted to get the oil in Sydney but went to hospital instead.. So of course I had to get that. A necklace and earrings found their way into my overflowing hands. I decided that was enough for today. It seems expensive but the Australian dollar is 3/4 of our dollar. So if I spend $100, it’s only $75.
‘Photos: koalas, kangaroos, and city views. There is a style of house called a Queensland, after the state. It is built on stilts with wide verandas, wood floors and lots of windows. There is a pix of part of one taken from the bus window., plus the lizard, bird and turkeys. Another day at sea to rest up tomorrow. Guess I forgot the city views and Queensland house. I will include them tomorrow .