Koalas, Kangaroos and Echidnas at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

A visit to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland is highly recommended, for children and the young at heart it is a fabulous way to spend a day. As soon as you walk through the entry gate you will smile at the sight of koalas sitting among tree branches, munching away on eucalyptus leaves or having a nap. These beautiful creatures, like so many of our native flora and fauna are victims of progress, their natural environment destroyed by developers and their lives threatened by domestic animals and traffic. The wildlife sanctuary does a wonderful job of raising awareness of the plight of our native animals, educating children and caring for the sick and injured at their wildlife hospital.

There are plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with some of the animals. For a fee you can have your photo taken cuddling a koala or you can buy food for the lorikeets and kangaroos and feed them by hand. We didn’t do any of that, however we did venture into the kangaroo enclosure and took great pleasure in patting young kangaroos while they were dozing in the sunlight. The largest and oldest of the male kangaroos was taking a nap near the gate, at 8 years old he has fathered plenty of kangaroos, the second male is 4 years old and not quite as large although one of the volunteers told us that his nickname was Fatty.

My friends and I spent a day there recently and we loved every minute. When our legs grew weary and our stomachs hungry we hopped on the people mover train and enjoyed a ride through the park and selected a lunch venue. The sanctuary’s rainforest environment is filled with the sound of birds calling and at times, howling dingoes, the train passes by the enclosures of kangaroos, wallabies, water birds and the Tasmanian Devil. Cameras and phones in hand we took hundreds of photos of creatures we don’t often get to see as well as a few that we will never see in the wild because their numbers are low and they are on the endangered list. I regretted not taking a camera with better zoom than my iPhone, the digital zoom on an iPhone really isn’t great and many of my photos look more painterly than photographic.

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6 thoughts on “Koalas, Kangaroos and Echidnas at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

  1. elisa ruland May 1, 2016 / 11:49 pm

    Thank you for sharing your experience with your cuddly friends. A nice Sunday morning smile!

  2. Debra Kolkka May 2, 2016 / 1:13 am

    This is a great spot. I have photos of me there more than 50 years ago. I loved it then, and I have been several times since then…time to return.

    • twoblackdoggies May 2, 2016 / 11:41 am

      My Mum reminded me of the time we went there when I was two, she got a photo of a kangaroo giving me a kiss 🙂 Places like this give us such wonderful memories.

  3. artandmoondreams May 3, 2016 / 5:23 pm

    What a delightful outing. It is terribly sad that man has displaced and pushed so many animals to the brink, but how wonderful there is a sanctuary like the one you visited to provide a haven and to care for our furry friends (scaled and feathered too). Your images are beautiful and made for a great virtual tour. Thank you for sharing.

    • twoblackdoggies May 4, 2016 / 9:48 pm

      Yes, delightful and sad at the same time. So glad you liked my photos, I went a bit nuts taking photos of all the beautiful creatures.

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