Adam and I lucky enough to live relatively close to colony of koalas. The koalas were brought into a reserve on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near Narrandera in the 1970s, after local native populations died out. They’ve remained there ever since, happily munching on the leaves of the giant gum trees that reside in the area.
Before we flew up to Queensland with Adam’s mum and step-dad, we decided to all head over the reserve one afternoon, to see if we could spot a koala or two…
We followed the back road to Narrandera and couldn’t help but pull over in one particular spot where the Bundigerry Creek meanders dreamily close by. We desperately need rain at the moment and the cool, green-blue waters of the creek felt like a total oasis.
The koala reserve, is easily accessible from the Sturt Highway (which links Wagga Wagga with Adelaide), and is full of dirt tracks, making it easy to get around in a car. We spent a great deal of our time driving through the gum trees, windows wound down breathing in the heady scent of eucalyptus, craning our necks into the sky to spot a koala and then eagerly jumping out when we thought we’d seen something.
We were lucky enough to see four (if you look really carefully below you might be able to make out a dark lump in a tree, in the middle of the picture- that’s the koala!) They’re quiet, solitary creatures for the most part and can spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping. Their colouring (greys to red- browns) also make them quite tricky to spot from the ground.
Even though the landscape looks parched, it was lovely to spend a few hours surrounded by bushland. There is a lovely solitude to being in such big open spaces, filled with trees and critters.
There are also some isolated ‘beaches’ on the banks of the river within the reserve, and both Adam and I agree it’d be great to return soon with a picnic lunch and a few good books and spend a day just relaxing by the water.
We’re still up in Queensland making the most of the sunshine and summer like temperatures, but I can’t wait to share more of our tropical holiday with you over the coming weeks.
Have a wonderful week. x
Wattle and Ash 