Andy's new friend

The koala keepers present two shows a day to tell you all about koalas, the first thing they tell you is that you shouldn’t call them koala bears as many people do – they aren’t bears, they are marsupials! Koalas are closely related to the wombat. The unbelievable thing is that the joey (baby koala) is born the size of a jelly bean, it then wriggles it’s way into the mother’s pouch where it feeds and grows.
Koalas sleep a great deal, on average 18 hours a day! This is because their food of eucalyptus leaves is very low in energy. The eucalyptus leaves have a very high water content which means that the koala very rarely needs to drink water, the name ‘koala’ comes from an aboriginal word meaning ‘no drink’.
At Lone pine, there are different areas for the koalas – a kindergarten for the ‘kids’, a bachelor pad for the young men and a retirement home for the elderly to relax in!
We both got our photo taken cuddling a koala, which was great!! They also let you take as many photos as you want on your own camera, as well as getting your own souvenir photograph. Koalas do ‘mess’ quite a lot, so it is advisable not to wear a white top if you decide to hug one…