A True Adventure

Monday 26th July 2010

Today we went to Loan Pine Koala Sanctuary. We were trying to decide between this place and the Steve Irwin’s Zoo. Marey, leah’s friend told us that the Loan Pine Sanctuarywas well worth a visit and very good value for money. The entrance fee is $30 (£17) per person. This allows you to watch all the shows and get really close to most of the animals, you even get to pet most of them. We got bus number 445 from stop number 41 on Adeleide street in the city centre. You will need to get a 3 zone pass, and if you are planning on returning to the city, then you are best getting the daily ticket, which costs $9 and allows you to use the ticket all day, between the 3 zones.

We got to the Koala Sanctuary in time for the first show at 10am. There are different shows running all day, but some only run once, so you are best getting there just before 10am. The first show was a sheep dog show. The farmer was showing us how the sheep dog is trained to get all the sheep in to a huddle and also how he get’s them into small spaces. The farmer whistles to signal the dog and the dog circles the sheep to get them into a huddle. Then when the farmer wants to get them into a gate, the dog keeps jumping over the sheep, to make them move over. He continues jumping over them, until they are all in the gate.

sheepdog jumping over the sheep to get them into the gate

We went to several shows throughout the day, including a bird show, koala show, wombat talk, koala talk and several others. We were able to get close to most of the animals. It was so nice to be able to walk amongst the kangaroo’s rather than just look at them through a cage. They were very tame and you were able to sit with them and pet them.

Sitting with the Kangaroos

It was really fascinating watching the kangaroos interact witheach other. At first we were a little unsure how tame they were, but we decided that if it was save enough for us to be walking around withthem, then they must be. We just sat with them for a while and took lot’s of pictures. We also got to pet an owl, Koala and hold parrots.

Paul holding the birds whilst they were feeding

Paul next to a Koala

Leah and Ruth sitting with the Kangaroos

Paul hopping with the Kangaroos

We had a great day out at the Santuary and enjoyed learning about all the different animals. It made a change to be able to get up close to the animals, rather than just look at them in cages! We would definitely recommend this place to people. The animals are well looked after and it’s great value for your money.

Ruth and Paul