Touring beautiful Australia: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
On my latest trip to Australia, I immersed myself in its diverse wildlife and ecosystems.
All while on an aggressive four city tour sharing best practices that government agencies, around the world, have used to address citizen interaction challenges. Talk about a diverse itinerary!
My trip begins with a quick hop on a Virgin flight from SFO to LAX. I’d never flown on Virgin before, and it was a swank experience with mauve neon mood lighting and slick seats. Alas, I did not see Richard Branson anywhere. Oh wait, I did see him in cartoon form during the safety briefing on my personal monitor. After a short layover I was in Brisbane, my first stop. Barely did my feet touch the hotel, I was whisked away on a day tour prior to the business meetings the next day. I’ve been to Australia before, but my last trip explored mainly their Shiraz…this time, I was after some Koala hugs and hikes!
One of my most memorable stops was to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. With the motto, “the earth is not only for humans,” this sanctuary is considered one of the top 10 zoos in the world. The animals were all so glad to see me! Embarrassingly at least one emu recognized me from a Wine Tube TV episode.
The koalas were so cute! The kangaroos… well, they seemed preoccupied as you’ll see in the video.
At times Brisbane reminds me of Vancouver, with lots of beautiful vistas, waters and a real outdoorsy feeling.
There is more to come, including a tour of a chocolate factory, and some more wildlife adventures.
Loni Kao StarkCo-Founder StarkSilverCreek, Creative Director and Wine Collector
Loni is a self-professed foodie, adventure travel seeker and aspiring artist. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The former Ms. Global Petite runner-up is host of several SSC shows including WineTube TV, StarkSilverCreek Presents, Loreto Live, and the new series The Artist Diaries. Between busy travel schedules to Washington, Napa and global destinations such as Australia, the Baja and Europe, she expends the rest of her energy collecting wines, practicing “escape artist”-style cooking, and building what she hopes, one day, will be a real estate empire. She catches her breath by writing about her adventures.
Twitter: @lonikaostark More: articles bio
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