Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary vs Paradise Country
Let me start out by saying Australia may have some of the deadliest reptiles and scary insects but they also have the cutest animals as well. Of course while my grandma was here we took her to both Paradise Country and the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Now there are things that I love about both but in all honesty I would tell anyone who is visiting Queensland to go to Currumbin over Paradise Country. Here’s why… Paradise Country - Koala Breakfast
At Paradise Country they put on this Koala breakfast and it’s exactly what it sounds like you have a great meal while a koala eats with you. After you're done eating they bring you around to see the male koalas and then to the nursery. Here they have all the mothering koalas and their joeys in one enclosing. You can take as many pictures as you like and at this point they give you some eucalyptus leaves for them to eat, which is super cool feeling when they grab your little branch of leaves from you or eat the leaves while you hold them. After you feed them Included in your fee you get a picture with a koala and honestly its the cutest thing ever to hold one and have it nuzzle your chest as you smile and have the photo taken. One thing I really like is that during your koala breakfast experience is that if you're apart of the group and other pushy tourists try to cut in they don't allow that they make sure you get all the attention because you paid for it. I would recommend this to a lot of people visiting however if you're older and need assistance they didn't provide any transportation from the top of the hill where you park to the bottom where the park is. So of course my grandma struggled a little bit because it is a hike and you need to be able to provide that for senior citizens. So all in all I do recommend the koala breakfast you get your moneys worth. Unfortunately because koalas are on the endangered list they may not be able to do the koala breakfast anymore or if they do you won’t be able to interact as much as last year. Paradise Country - The rest of the park The rest of the sanctuary is very basic they have the kangaroos in an area where you can pet and snap selfies with. Your usual petting zoo animals in another small barn, stable and Aussie muster area where they put on some shows throughout the day. enclosed areas for the dingo's and sheep. However it just doesn't feel like a natural home for these animals yes obviously I know we’re in a park but you’d think they’d make it more of a tropical surrounding. They do have other activities available besides the animals but obviously I was there for the koalas. The proceeds from the tickets don’t all go towards the Save a mate foundation they talk about you have to donate at various donation boxes around the park, or buy from the range of items that support the foundation. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary First off all the proceeds from the tickets go straight back to the sanctuary, which is great for the animals that reside there. To me straight away I noticed it was a more tropical area tons of trees, shrubs, flowers everywhere almost like an actual rain forest setting which I think is better for the animals. Now we went around as much park as we could my grandma was doing a lot of walking which makes sense we didn't hit everything the park had to offer. However they do have a couple of trains that go throughout the sanctuary with multiple stops so you don't always have to walk which is great for senior citizens. We did get to see some animals that we were dying to get a glimpse of like wombats are the cutest thing ever, so chunky so cute! Also it was the first time we saw a Tasmanian Devil and they are very ratty looking but also kind of cute. There is just so much to see here at the Currumbin wildlife Sanctuary they have zip-lining and high ropes challenges perfect for kids. Plus a bigger variety of animals to see, have you ever heard of a tree kangaroo? Neither did I until we went to this place. They also have an animal hospital on site which I think is amazing because you can go in and see that the animals are well attended to. There is just so much they have to offer and like I said earlier all the proceeds go back to the sanctuary. While we were there my parents actually decided to get a years membership which didn’t put them out a ton of money but even so we knew where the money would be going, so now they can go as many times as they want which means I’ll be uploading tons of photos to the gallery to show you all when I visit a few more times.
Thanks for reading this weeks post and hopefully if you’re coming for a visit to Queensland you hit up Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary or Paradise Country for the koala breakfast if it’s still available I do recommend that! Cheers xx * I have linked both parks websites so you can look into a day trip or plan to go when you come to visit Australia