Wildlife
 

We will be visiting the eastern half of Australia & are interested in a short trip to see Koalas & kKngaroos to photograph. What is the best place to go(with limited time)? Is the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary one of the choices?

Yes -- Lone Pine is a small park located in a suburb of Brisbane. For a fee, you can have you picture taken holding a Koala & they have a petting zoo where you can get up close and feed the kangaroos.

I haven't been there since 2000, but they used to offer bus and ferry service from downtown Brisbane to Lone Pine. And of course, you can also drive there yourself.

Thanks for your quick reply. My only reservation concerning Lone Pine is that it resembles a petting zoo in the U.S. I would prefer photographing them in the wild( similar to our trip to Kenya years ago). Is their anything else that can be achieved in a short time?

If you have some time to head up to the Blue Mtns above Sydney, you can see kangeroos at Euroka Clearing. The Blue Mtns are full of beautiful scenery and hopefully Alan will chime in w/ details.

AndrewDavid

Seeing koalas in the wild is unlikely, especially on a short trip. I've lived here all my life (so far) and have only seen a few - and you'd need a (bloody) powerful lens to photograph them.

Kangaroos and wallabies are a dime a dozen - you can see them hopping down the main streets of the cities!

NO - not really. But, as our mate AD says, you can go to Euroka Clearing, on the Blue Mountains National Park - search for details on the threads - Alan must surely get tired of chiming in with the same information.

For my money (what little there is) and with some time, I think the best place for wildlife is the coast south of Sydney. You need to drive, and stay overnight, or there are some day tours you can take. It's about a 4-hour drive to get there, say to Huskisson, and out to Greenpatch on Jervis Bay, in Booderee National Park. Kangaroos abound (pun intended) and the birdlife is fascinating. You'll be mobbed by both, so there's a squillion chances to take photographs. This is a lovely part of the world, too. Beautiful beaches, diving and snorkelling, forests, national parks, dolphins and whales (in season).

I have a photo on my fridge of me, crouching nose-to-nose with a small wallaby. He wasn't much on conversation, though.

If you just want wildlife parks, there are plenty around. This may be your best chance of seeing koalas.

Don't know how far north you intend to go, but I do know there's quite easily photographable koalas in wild on Magnetic Island, off Townsville. I've a good shot of one taken from there without the need of a telephoto lens. There's a rough dirt road which leads up to the old Fort, it eventually turns into a steep track, but just before it does you usually see koalas just a few trees back from the side of the track. Locals would have a better idea of where they are at a given time. Best to go late afternoon/early evening as they're starting to wake up. Plenty of wild rock wallabies on beaches there - they are quite tame and will come right up to you looking for a handout.

there are koalas to be found in natural settings in noosa head national park, on sunshine coast. we saw several while there on hiking trails and around.. and well within camera range

but i agree that the south coast may be the best place to see kangaroos.. on the beach in pristine settings..

Hello jblauner
You do not say where on the east coast of Australia you intend visiting. However if you are coming to Melbourne and Victoria, you would be able to see koalas in as close to their natural habitat as possible at the Koala Conservation Centre at Phillip Island. The centre was established about 15 years ago to save the Phillip Island koala population from extinction. There are plenty of photo opportunities from the boardwalks that take you to the treetops to be eye to eye with the koalas, which by the way sleep for 20 hours per day. The centre is run by Parks Victoria and is not a commercial enterprise, and is open from 9am to 5 pm. You could combine this with a trip to see the fairy penguins which come out at dusk.
Re kangaroos, if you are interested in golf you can play a round of golf at the Anglesea Public Golf course with the kangaroos, you would pass this course if you are going to tour the Great Ocean Road. Another excellent kangaroo spotting place is at Halls Gap in the Grampians
Hope this is of help

Sorry, forgot to add that if you are touring the Great Ocean Road, a very worthwhile side trip is to the town of Beech Forest (about 45 minutes from Apollo Bay), the home of the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk which is the highest and longest tree canopy walk in the world.
You are in the canopy of the old growth rainforest of Cape Otway, it is a fantastic experience.
If you go to Apollo Bay consider taking a charter boat out to explore the shipwreck coast

Hi, jbluner!

There have been many recent posts asking for similar information -- a search (above) will turn up a couple of hours' reading. To start you off, I have topped the most recent for you (durectly below this).

Happy hunting!

The Magnetic Island suggestion is good and presumably you will go to Cairns to see the Barrier Reef. While there, drive up to the Atherton Tablelands where at Granite Gorge ($5 entry fee) you can get up close and personal with wild but habituated Mareeba Rock Wallabies. Treekangaroos are best seen with a guide from Yungaburra where they reach their greatest density. Musky Ratkangaroos can be seen at Lake Barrine. Undarra is wonderful for a huge range of macropods. The Atherton Tablelands is a hot spot for wildlife. It hold most of the endemics of the Wet Tropics World Heratage Area. 65% of Australia's ferns are found here and the list continues:- butterflies 60%, possums 56%, bats 58% and birds 51%.

You can see wild mobs of wallabies out at Wacol Station Road,Brisbane grazing around the prisons. Just be careful driving there on dusk or dawn when they jump across the road.
Lone Pine or the Daisy Hill Koala sanctuary just on the southside of Brisbane.You can also see goannas there in the warmer seasons strolling through the park. Lone Pine also run night walks which is good for spotting possums etc. The nightwalks have a price but Daisy Hill is free. Wacol Station Road is free but don't pickup the hitchhikers ha!

If you do go to the south coast of NSW (where I live) there is a great wildlife park at Nowra where you can hold Koalas. it is small and not far from Jervis Bay where there are lots of kangaroos in the wild. Also good whale watching and dolphin cruises depending on time of year. It is a very beautiful part of Australia ( not that I am biased) and well worth a visit. Also near Kiama Blowhole and Kangaroo Valley.