My Aussie Adventure ~ Day 6

We woke up to a bright & sunny morning. Since we did not have to check out till 10.30am, we decided to walk to the nearby beach after breakfast..it was indeed beautiful..the beach was clean it's waters as clear & blue as the sky above.  We were really glad that we had the weather on our side this morning (Thank God!)

By 10.30am everyone was all ready to go, some memorable shots at the hotel before leaving.

We headed straight for Brisbane for our final day of sightseeing before flying home tonite.  Our first stop was a brief one near Kangaroo Point where we can have a scenic view of Brisbane.

The next stop was the one I was really eagerly waiting for ~ Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

This sanctuary is located in Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane. It was established in 1972 by Claude Reid (Australia). It currently houses the largest number of Koalas in captivity with 134 koalas.

Every year Lone Pine breeds 10 ~ 15 koalas to maintain a healthy population of around 130 koalas. A female gives birth to a single joey after 33 ~ 35 days pregnancy period, twins are rare. The joey is pink, the size of a jelly bean when born & makes its way blindly into it's mother's pouch. After 5 ~ 7 months, it will emerge & ride around on it's mother's back, always staying close. The joey will become independant around 1 year of age.

We had the opportunity to have a complimentary photo taking session with the koalas.  They are such gentle creatures, it's coat felt thick & fine & so soft to the touch..so huggable =)

(Queuing up for the photo-taking session)

Lunch was at Lone Pine with a BBQ Lunch..simple yet tasty.

Next....Kangaroo Reserve!! Where we had the opportunity to get up close to them in this 5 acre wide enclosure.  There are over 130 kangaroos & wallabies eagerly awaiting for their daily hand-feeding by visitors.  Being able just to see & walk amongst them, touch & hand-feed them is really an amazing experiance.  With 5 different species of kangaroos & wallabies, plus some emus, you san spend all day feeding these majestic creatures.

(Children hand-feeding the kangaroos)

(An Emu at the reserve ~ it is hard to get any closer to have a better shot)

The 'Birds of Prey' show was something I have never seen live before.  This is where we can have a close encounter with some of Australia's most unique & charismatic birds of prey.  This entertaining & informative display focuses on raptors - those birds that seize prey with powerful feet equipped with razor-sharp talons.  We watched as the barn owls float over and the barking owls whiz on by.  The agility, strength & size of the eagles is simply amazing.

(Heading on to the sitting gallery for the Birds of Prey show)

Photo-taking session after the Birds of Prey show

(With barn owl 'Shannon' and her handler Theresa)

(With a barking owl & its handler)

At the Sheep Dog Show we saw the amazing skills of  the sheep dogs from the outback as they command the sheep around the paddock for their master, responding to finely tuned whistles, calls & hand signals. the crowd's favourite is Phoebe, the Australian Kelpie.  There is also the sheep shearing demonstration after which we were invited to have a feel of  the sheared wool.

(Phoebe in action on the left)

Lorikeet feeding was really fun, just to see the birds flying around and towards the food tray that we held up was awesome.

The wild Lorikeets lucky enough to live around Lone Pine get to enjoy a special lorikeet at feeding times. This complete nectar provides the birds with a healthy meal of oats, cereals, vitamis & minerals to supplement their natural diet.

The rainbow lorikeet is known for its distinctive loud screech & green, blue, yellow & red feathers.  Lorikeets are one of the few parrots that eat mainly nectar and pollen & therefore need a special diet.  They have specialised brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar & soft fruits. They can feed from the flowers of  about 5,000 species of  plants & used their specialised tongues to take the nectar.  The tips of their tongues have tufts of papillae (extreme fine hairs) which collect nectar & pollens.

After leaving Lone Pine and on the way back to Brisbane town, we made a short stop at Mt Coot-tha. The iconic Brisbane lookout is a favourite destination for both local & foreign tourists. From the observation deck we can have a panoramic view of Brisbane City stretching out to Moreton bay & around the distant mountains.  There's the Summit Restaurant  & the Kuta Cafe where one can indulge in food & drinks whilst enjoying the magnificient view of Brisbane.

Our last scenic stop was The South Bank Parkland . Brisbane's South Bank Precinct is the place where locals live, work, play, learn, exercise, relax & celebrate.

Each year more than 11 million people enjoy the South Bank's attractions.  The riverside parklands offer a variety of  leisure options including markets, barbeque & entertainment areas, walking, running & cycling tracks, river boat rides & the famous Street Beach.  You can also enjoy the restaurants, shops, museums & galleries.

(The Clem Jones Promenade)

(The Wheel of Brisbane)

The South Bank Lifestyle Market opens every Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays with an exciting range of arts, crafts, homewares, collectibles, exotic items, designeer fashion & much more.

Our final & last stop is for dinner at Brisbane Chinatown. The town is pretty much quiet as we arrived as most of the shops closes at 5pm, except for a few shops at Chinatown.  Dinner was at Golden Place Chinese Restaurant, where we had the best chinese dinner before flying off back home.

(An autographed photo frame of John Travolta of Saturday Night Fever fame who dined at the Golden Palace Restaurant)

Scenes around Chinatown

(The only supermarket that was open in Chinatown after 5pm)\

Brisbane as night falls

By 8.30pm we were all at the airport to catch our 11.20pm flight back to Kuala Lumpur.  We had a 3 hour wait before boarding our flight.

(Red Rooster ~ a popular fast-food chain in Brisbane)

(Noodle Box ~ a takeaway concept of chinese food)

As we browsed through various shops at the airport, we came across this interesting 'snack' being sold at one of the shops ~ Kangaroo, Crocodile & Emu Jerky..Ewwwwwww!! Wouldn't even think of trying.

My final photo before boarding the 7 hour flight back home, taking with me memories of the most fun & memorable holiday.  So glad that MY AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE turned out to be a fun learning experiance & a most exciting one ......... =)