Hugging a koala in Australia

By David G. Molyneaux, editor, TheTravelMavens.com

Most visitors to Australia do not hug a koala.

Hugging a koala at Cairns Tropical Zoo in Queensland, Australia

These critters have a soft and cuddly look – and make a nice souvenir picture to take home – but finding a huggable Koala is not that easy.

I met my koala at the Cairns Tropical Zoo.

The story behind my hug is more complicated than you might think, because in most parts of Australia you can’t legally touch a koala. Aussies protect these marsupials – they are not bears – and there are concerns about the animal's sustainable future in the wild.

Legally, you can hold a koala in only two Australian states, so if you want a cuddle-picture you will have to travel either to South Australia or Queensland, both of which are a plane ride away from the major metropolis of Sydney. Queensland is closer to the beaten tourist track, which is why I was in the cruise port city of Cairns, home of the attractive Cairns Tropical Zoo, keeper of cuddling koalas.

 

Feeding the lemurs at Cairns Tropical Zoo

You could spend a day at Cairns Zoo, satisfying all your other Australia animal needs: Feed a kangaroo, feed a lemur, take pictures of crocodiles, a boa constrictor, wombats, dingoes, red pandas, lizards, and a cassowary, which is a very large flightless bird.

The zoo is about 25 minutes by car from the Cairns Cruise Terminal. Adults are charged $33; children 4-15 pay $16.50.  It’s about a $60 cab ride from the cruise port, so you may want to book a tour that includes transportation. Check the Zoo website.     

Koalas, by the way, do not spend all their time cuddling. They work a maximum of 30 minutes a day for three days, then get a day off.

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