This was our last day in Brisbane. We had to vacate our room by 11am, which we did after our free breakfast. But our flight did not leave until 1am so we had a full day to sightsee. We decided that the best option would be to hire a taxi for the day. That would allow all 4 of us to stay together and would keep our luggage with us. So we arranged to have Ish, the driver we met on our trip to the hotel when we arriivd in Brisbane, drive us around.
Brisbane is a beautiful city, but we saw what we wanted to see in the city on the first 2 days. The one attraction that was a “must see” for all of us was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was located nearly 20 miles from downtown. So that was our first destination.
Lone Pine offers up close and personal encounters with koala bears, kangaroos and raptors (hawks and falcons). There are also sheep dog demonstrations (sheep dogs being very important to the Australian economy) and some other native animals, such as crocodile and platypus.
Upon arrival we immediately headed to the “free flight raptor show”. This was a demonstration of the skills of three different birds – a barn owl, a hawk and a peregrine falcon. All were “free flight” which meant they were free to fly about the venue – no cage. And the flight paths were often very close to us in the audience – close enough to touch the bird as it flew by. Very cool.
The kangaroo encounter was special. They live in a large fenced area which we could enter. We were able to walk among the kangaroos and even pet them. Also very cool.
The koala encounter was not so intimate. It is possible to hold a koala, but that privilege costs $15 and has to be reserved in advance. But there are many koala bears (which are not actually bears) in open pens where we could get within a few feet. The platypus was elusive. I should have taken a video as they move too fast to get a good still shot. We also saw some HUGE bats – the size of kittens.
After Lone Star we jointly decided on a dinner venue, recommended by Ish – Charcoal & Co. It was basically a fast food place serving Arabian fare. Very good.
He then drove us to Mount Coot-tha which overlooks Brisbane. We got a nice nighttime view of this beautiful city. Dottie thought she lost her phone while there, but, fortunately, it was in the taxi. Ish then drove us to the airport so we could begin our long journey home.
