Searching for Baby Koalas

 Wednesday 18 October

Destination - Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Park, just a few kilometres from the Gold Coast beaches.

Spotting koalas is very rare. Their habitats are now limited because of urban development. When we hike, we tend to look around us and not up. Looking up means slowing or stopping for safety. Certain locations are known for their habitation. Having said that, I have been very fortunate in the past few weeks to see 5. I also read that our local school had a visitor to one of their gum trees. A friend posted these photos of a koala family visiting her garden.  Now that would be just amazing. Their home backs onto bushland.

Mum and joey

Dad 

The Hungry Hikers last visited Coombabah in November last year. On that occasion we were thrilled to see numerous wallabies and kangaroos around every corner, plus 6 koalas. A grand total. I mentioned this to a friend, who said she had been there the month before and saw as many, but with joeys.

I noted on my calendar to return in October this year and we set off expectantly. We arrived about 4 pm, and the field near the car park, was teeming with grazing wallabies and roos. Our hopes rose, eventhough all the flora is struggling with the extremely dry conditions. 

The wide trails of the park, wind their way through a variety of open spaces, melaleuca and mangrove swamps, eucalypt forests, and Aussie bush. We slowly strolled the paths for 6 kilometres with our eyes scanning every inch of the trees but to no avail. Any open grass area, however, was filled with grazing wallabies and kangaroos. We must have seen a couple of hundred during the afternoon. Even when we were in a bushy area, one's eyes would unexpectedly alight on a few, or a lone one, checking out what we were doing.

Thankfully, hawk-eye Jayne was with us and spotted both koalas, that Leanne, Joc, and I had missed.

It was a very relaxed and peaceful stroll and we left the park just before 6 when the gates were closed for the night. Time for a short drive to Paradise Point and a picnic meal of fish and chips in a park beside the water,

I took few photos as I have been here so many wonderful times. I've added some of Joc's and her collages.

The green of last year.

This very sleepy fellow didn't move an inch.

Spot our very active friend.

We must have spent nearly half an hour watching this koala forage for his dinner or, for him, breakfast. Koalas are nocturnal, so to see one as active as this huge fellow was quite an amazing treat.

The melaleuca swamp was totally dry.

Last year.

The red line marks our trail. What are wonderful afternoon in every way. Perhaps in October next year we will be luckier spotting joeys!

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