Pure joy in Australia...

Let me introduce you to Chibby

In August, we had a chance to travel to Australia.  This was a trip that we decided on at the last minute (May) when we couldn't decide what kind of vacation to take last year. I never thought we'd go to Australia, but it is was incredible in every way you could imagine and more.  We made a lot of memories and dream of returning sooner than later.

Chibby was a lovely, cuddly koala that we had an opportunity to hold in Kuranda at the Koala Gardens.  We had been warned that koalas can be mean, aren't cuddly or soft and tend to pee on people.  Well, I don't know if we got lucky or what, but Chibby was none of those things.  Her fur was super soft and thick and she just cuddled right into me and my husband.  She held most of her weight in her bottom, so, it was kind of like holding a baby with a weighted bottom.  There was no need to change clothes afterwards either which was an added plus.  We were one of the first few people there in the morning, so, I got to hold Chibby for an extended period of time which made my day!  This was the highlight of the trip for me.

To be fair, I did hold another koala in Cairns that was a little stinky from all the eucalyptus and not as soft as Chibby. That one was a male, so, I'm not sure if that was the reason.  It may have also had to do with how well the koalas were treated and cared for at each spot too.

The only place we saw koalas in the wild was at Kangaroo Island.  They are kind of hard to spot in the trees if they are up high, but we found a few.  We also had the chance to see a baby koala (joey) and his mother at an animal reserve on Kangaroo Island.   Absolutely precious! I'll be sure to post pictures soon now that I seem to have the picture issue resolved.

I knew that I loved koalas before getting to Australia, but now I love them even more.  As a child I had a chance to see one at the Buffalo Zoo during a special exhibit one summer, but this was so much better.  However, I'm still trying to convince my husband that we need to move to San Diego, so, I can visit the koalas there from time to time.  This plan isn't going so well, but I'm not giving up hope.  The fact that Sheldon expressed his love for koalas on The Big Bang Theory a few weeks ago made my day and reinvigorated my desire to be able to see these beautiful little creatures more often!