We did one short walk on the Rainforest Circuit in Binna Burra and saw a Wallaby — I had never seen a one in the wild.
Then, we drove to Brisbane. The drive went smoothly, until we go to our hotel where we were also returning out car. We didn’t see the car rental sign, so drove past the entrance. Then we were stuck driving around and around on Brisbane one-way streets during rush hour — really a nightmare, and I am glad I didn’t side-swipe any cars. Finally, we found our way back to the entrance and turned in – and saw the car company sign. Whew.
Sheila walked around the city a little – I was frazzled from driving and my feet were starting to hurt, so I stayed in the hotel.
The view was nowhere near as nice as last night’s (or, really, any of the room views while we’ve been in Australia.)
Next day we took a cruise to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We got to the river cruise boat just in time — the tour company didn’t send us any message that the time had changed until we were already on board.
The 45 minute cruise up the river to the sanctuary included information about the neighborhoods and history of Brisbane.
The Koala sanctuary was small, but had plenty to entertain us. After the Australian Zoo, I didn’t think the birds or dingoes had enough room, but the main attraction was the koalas. The sanctuary started out with a handful of them in 1927 and is up to 136 or so. They were (mostly sleeping) in enclosures all through the sanctuary. Occasionally one moved a little.
We saw the sheep dog exhibit (the border collie watched, as the Kelpi did the work – evidently they trade off shows).
We got our picture taken holding a koala. (The staff assured us they only use koalas that like (or, at least, don’t mind) being held and they only work 30 minutes, and every four days they have a day off.)
Watched a Birds of Prey show – lots of fun, but shorter than the one in O’Reilly’s, so less birds. The owl flew back and forth between the rows.
Then, back on the boat, and back to Brisbane to pack for our trip to Papua New Guinea tomorrow.