Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

On a bend of the Brisbane River at Fig Tree Pocket, Lone Pine opened in 1927 as the world's first koala sanctuary and remains the largest, home to well over a hundred of them. Visitors can hold a koala, hand-feed the mob of kangaroos that roam a broad open paddock, and watch platypus, wombats, dingoes and a barnstorming free-flight raptor show. Set among old figs and jacarandas, it is an easy river cruise or short drive from the city centre. Few places offer a closer, gentler encounter with Australia's most emblematic animals.