Koala cuddle
Can someone who has taken this tour or a representative from Tauck give me an answer to this question? Are we allowed to hold koalas at certain parks? I was informed that this practice is no longer allowed. However, I recently received a copy of tauck's preview collection for 2015, and page 25 clearly shows a photo of travelers holding a koala. I do understand that this bear is an endangered animal. If that is the case, and after reading various posts, I realize that many have done this and wondered how this was arranged.
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I did this trip in Nov. 2011 and one of the highlights was holding a Koala. At first, I heard we couldn't even though that was promoted w/the trip, but was pleasantly surprised when we arrived in Kuranda to find out we could!!!
I typed notes daily of the trip and here is my summary from my day seven, but I believe would take place on your day Six:
Day Seven
Start the day @ Kuranda. In this stop you will have a chance to visit a Butterfly House, different types of Birds & a place where you can hold a Koala. You are dropped off in front of shops, but if you go towards the area to enter to see the Koalas, there are more shops that have better prices than any of the other places we've looked into. Use your time wisely because they only gave about 45 minutes and I really wish we had closer to an hour, if not longer.
Then we went to the Skyline Rainforest Cableway.
The next stop after Kuranda is a visit to Hartley's Crocodile Farm. Once you arrive, you are treated to a BBQ lunch which includes chicken, fish, filet and, of course, crocodile. Then you have a private crocodile feeding presentation and an exclusive boat cruise. This stop was more enjoyable than I expected as I am not a major fan of crocodiles.
ENJOY!!! I hope you are going onto New Zealand, too, it was beautiful!! :-)
I loved New Zealand and the shotover jet boat ride was the highlight there. Highly recommend it!
I want to do the Tauck China tour just to hold the baby Panda and the Africa tour where you can "walk and play" w/the teenage lions!! Maybe one day. :-)
The most important thing I can tell you is that Koalas are NOT bears. Never have been, never will be.
Are they endangered? Well, sort of… and sort of not. In certain parts of the country, they are definitely vulnerable. In some others, their numbers are out of balance with the environment. Here's a site they might set you off on the hunt for more information:
https://www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/koala-endangered-or-not
Can you cuddle a koala? More to the point, would you want to cuddle a koala? Koalas have very sharp claws, all the better for climbing trees! And they are not afraid to use them on predators. That would be you and me. And there's another thing. The thing that animals, and people, often do when they are really frightened. Koalas have a bad, but well deserved, reputation for peeing on the hand that cuddles them. Any koala that is handed to a tourist to cuddle has been trained, or at least coached to try reeeeallly hard, not to pee on the hand that literally feeds it. If you look carefully, you will often see the official handler carrying a cloth, strategically placed under the koala's bum. It's there for a reason! If you ever see a wild koala, don't approach it. If you are a firefighter … well, you have a different perspective … and more appropriate training than a tourist.
I hope you see all the special things you are coming here to see and that your photographs turn out to be fabulous!
Cheers,
Jan
PS. Don't forget to keep an eye out for drop bears. These creatures are not related to koalas at all. They are quite a different species.
And if you should run into a drop bear on you journey, make sure you say G'day and never Hello!!
Cheers,
Jan
PS: Some might find this reference helpful. http://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear
Isn't it amazing the depth of research that's out there. Simply astounding.
The link to the Australian Museum is good, the info, well not so much. I don't think there is too much to worry about, anyway. I've heard they are only found in isolated areas like Alice Springs, Uluru, Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Port Douglas, especially beach areas, so Tauck travelers shouldn't be at all concerned.
I'm really glad to see that the irony bypass fixupectomy is coming along so nicely.
Best wishes,
Jan
I was hoping to get back on topic. Does anyone have any additional information regarding this marsupial?
Just to repeat so that you don't make a faux pas when you visit, Koalas are not Bears they are Marsupials. Have fun getting your photo taken.
Sorry we dragged this a bit off topic.
While this is not a definitive answer, and it may not hold for every park or Featherdale Wildlife Park which you will visit with Tauck, but here is a link to a Government of South Australia website for Cleland Park Wildlife Park that clearly states that they allow visitors to hold Koalas. You "can get up close to and even hold a koala." Cleland Wildlife Park
Info on the Featherdale Wildlife Park that is on the Tauck itinerary says: "You can hand feed a kangaroo, wallaby or emu - or enjoy a face-to-face encounter with one of our friendly koalas - amongst one of Australia's largest private collections of Australian native animals and bird life."
Now on the other hand, being able to pet a Cheetah on the South Africa tour was awesome! I was almost too scared and was the last one in line, I was so timid, but I love to brag about that if given the opportunity!
Lori, look up the zoo the tour visits on the internet and see what it says there, I think that is the only place we saw them, Im also remembering that maybe in some states in Australia, holding Koalas is no longer allowed.
And before you ask, don't attempt to climb Uluru. It's disrespectful to the indigenous owners. It's also bad form to use the previous name. It's important to respect cultural differences. As one gentleman from Maine shouted ferociously at me just last month when I was commenting on the similarities between Australian pronunciation and Bostonian versions, "My country. My accent." Strangely, we were on an Australian ship heading for Australian territory at the time. His wife was mortified. She would have been grateful for a drop bear just then to camouflage his ignorance and cultural imperialism.
I have tried to couch my replies in a tone that will sweeten the message and in language that you might understand. If you want blunt you can have it.
At Featherdale we could feed some of the animals and stand next to the Koala's for photos, but you could not hold them there.
Things may have changed as my trip was in 2011.
British - that's awesome about the cheetah!!! I'm hoping to one day do a S. Africa tour w/Tauck and love the one you get to "walk and play" w/the teenage lions. Some day I hope, but for now, I'm planning on a backstage tour at San Diego Zoo where you can have your pic taken w/a cheetah (not a Tauck tour). :-)
Jan - I'm from Boston and I appreciate all of your knowledge and your humor!!!
Cheers,
Jan
Thanks for all the feedback about this. We don't include any chances to play with koalas on the tour, but when you're in Queensland, there's usually some free time in a town called Kuranda, where you'll have the opportunity to do this on your own.
Regardless, I hope you have a great time on your trip!
-Tim
We are in sydney now preparing to go home today (first and only day of rain on this trip!) We did get to hold, cuddle and take a picture of a koala ( for a fee, $14) in Cairns, Kewarra Beach. We got to see, stand next to,and photograph koalas for free at Featherdale Park near Sydney. Definitely, hold the koala and buy you picture.
Hi there. I also just got back from the Spotlight on Australia trip. My son had told me this was the wrong trip for me because I am afraid of everything that crawls, or has four legs. LOL
I not only enjoyed the trip BUT made sure I had a picture taken holding Harold. Harold is one of the larger koalas. Yes, they have fierce looking claws but the handler arranges the animal in your arms. The park and picture with the koalas cost $31, I think. I know we got a reduction because we were on the tour.
Another experience was at Featherdale where you could pick up an ice cream cone of food for feeding the smaller roos. Yep, this was another photo op for my doubting sons. This was free. You were allowed to stand beside a small tree where a koala set, but your couldn't touch. This was free. If you had a camera you could do your own shots. BTW, I think Featherdale had some of the more reasonable prices on souvenirs.
Before I went on this adventure I had loads of questions. I'm making a post on my experience.