Imagine I’m sitting in our cozy Airbnb in Noosa, Queensland right now, sipping on a flat white and still can’t believe what happened yesterday. We were so looking forward to the koalas – those fluffy tree cuddlers who just scream Australia. We park our motorhome on the edge of a eucalyptus forest, and after only 10 minutes of hiking Jürgen whispered: “There, look up!” In fact – in a fork of a branch, less than 5 meters away, a koala was dozing and chewing eucalyptus leaves with relish. I held my breath and just looked. Such peace, such pure closeness to nature.
Koalas sleep up to 20 hours, eat only certain eucalyptus species and have really suffered after the bushfires. No holding, no feeding, just watching from a respectful distance. In the afternoon we went on to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane. There we sneaked through the tree paths, discovered dozens of koalas and even had a “koala high-five” moment when one of them curiously stretched out his hand.
The day ended with a sunset picnic on the beach. Australia no longer feels like wanderlust, but home.
