QLD Newsletter (13 Jul 08)

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. The world's first and largest koala sanctuary with over 130 koalas. Well, this is what was stated on its website (http://www.koala.net/) as well as on the wikipedia.

In any case, it is an interesting place. I believe it is much better than the Australia Zoo.

Aren't they adorable? Koala ("ko-wa-la") are fussy eaters. They eat 50 species of the 600 species of eucalyptus trees in Australia. The belief that the koala is drunk on these leaves is actually a myth. Eucalyptus leaves contain 50% water and 5% sugars and starches. This is a low energy diet, therefore koalas conserve their energy by sleeping about 19 hrs a day, which makes them appear intoxicated.

Do you know what koala means? The word koala is aboriginal for "no drink". This name came about because koalas hardly ever go down to the ground for water as they obtain most of it from the eucalyptus leaves they eat. And there is no such thing as koala bear. It is just koala.

If koalas are not enough for you. Try this.

Okok, here are the nicer photos of the kangaroos.

Do you know what kangaroo means in aboriginal? If you are thinking of "I don't know". You got the answer.

If you think the sanctuary is just koalas and kangaroos, then you are wrong. Other animals that live there include the following:

To call off the day, we decided to showcase our culinary skills in the evening. Homemade smoked salmon and Hawaiian pizzas.