Love in Grey and Yellow : Train, Planes and Koalas?

After we left Cairns (pengy, can you link the last honeymoon post?), we headed south to Brisbane aboard the Sunlander Trans-Queensland train. We wanted to see more of the Australian landscape but knew we didn’t have time to do any driving ourselves so we boarded the train for a 24-hour trip.

Mr. Joey enjoying the first class cabin.

It seems like a long time to spend on a train, but the journey was actually really enjoyable. We packed provisions (lunch, some dinner and breakfast), a few good books and kicked our feet up.

We saw some amazing views from the train and we even caught a few Kangaroos hopping along side the train. I felt like we really had an Australian experience after that. I didn’t get any pictures because the train was moving too fast. Poop!

We got into Brisbane in the evening the following day and decided to just have a chill night. We had lots of excitement planned in the morning.

At 9 AM, we caught a river cruise to the Lone Pine Koala Refuge. The actual river cruise was really nice. It was fairly warm and we both learned a little about Australian history. Also, the residential architecture in Brisbane is stunning. We both wished we had taken this trip before we started designing the house.

Do you remember this picture from my pre-recap teasers? Well, it’s time to cuddle!!!

Meet Pepsi. Yes, her name was Pepsi. She was super cuddly and didn’t stink. A lot of people told us they smelled but I didn’t notice. I was afraid that for some reason it would “go to the bathroom” on me. It happened with a lizard once and now I always think about it when I’m holding anything other a cat or dog.

Pepsi was a little tired and fussy. Each koala does a 30 minute photo shift every two weeks and we were Pepsi’s last clients of the day. She had a bit of a “walkabout” on me and it took a few minutes to get her to relax and smile.

The Koalas at Lone Pine were some of the most active we’ve ever seen. Koalas at zoos always seem to just be sleeping, hugging or eating.

After snapping a picture with Pepsi, we picked up some Kangaroo food (similar to rabbit food) and headed in the the huge fenced area. There are no Lone Pine attendants, just you with a few of these

and these

I think the Emus were scary. The roos were really chill. We just walked up to them with food in our hand and they just hopped over and ate right out of our palm. Actually, a few ran away from Mr. Joey.

We also saw some of these sleepy guys. Oh, they are sooo cute!

We both really loved Brisbane and wished we had more than 2 days there. When we go back to Australia, we’re definitely spending more time there in addition to adding Melbourne to the itinerary.

After some koala cuddling and joey feeding, we hopped on another plane back to Sydney for 2 final days in the land down under. We ate more buttery seafood, did some shopping and enjoyed a lot of wine.

The view from our room. We stayed in a different part of town.

We also enjoyed a picnic in the Royal Botanic Gardens and took in some really lovely views.

And a little more wildlife. These guys just fly free like seagulls would in Seattle.

We had a fantastic time in Australia and would go back in a heartbeat. Anyone else heading down under?