Yesterday my work took me to Lone Pine Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket.  I live not very far away from Lone Pine but am ashamed to say that in all the nearly 30 years I have lived in Brisbane, I have not visited it once. 

It is VERY popular with overseas tourists and for good reason.  Australia is blessed with the most extraordinary animals.  We are so used to to them we forget that to people from other countries they seem quite exotic.  And indeed they are.  Look at these gorgeous koalas !  They can sleep up to 16 hours a day bless them.  I was very impressed with the athleticism of the ones I saw - leaping from branch to branch rather like possums.

Lone Pine has been going since 1927 and is rated one of the top 20 zoos in the world. There are daily shows featuring birds of prey, wombats, snakes etc.  There is even a barn for handling guinea pigs and chicks for the younger members of the family.  Guests can walk freely in the kangaroo enclosure and get up close to the roos.The newest exhibition is the Platypus - Barak the platypus is the first to be bred in captivity in 55 years and arrived in Lone Pine from another sanctuary in Victoria, Healesville.

I was particularly taken with the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat who I think looks quite prehistoric and like that model in the Queensland Museum. 

Does anyone else remember reading The Muddle Headed Wombat by Ruth Park as a child?  It was a radio show too wasn't it?  ....google ....google...google...and there you are....I found out via Wikipaedia that in fact it was a radio show first ....through the Children's Hour and the Argonauts Club (of which I was a very proud member) and then it became a book.  The Children's Hour was cancelled in 1970- there- showing my age now!!  The Muddle Headed Wombat generated such phrases as treely ruly (for really truly) and Cindergorilla for Cinderella!  Oh my goodness....one could Wikipaedia for ever really.....John Ewart played the part of the Muddle Headed Wombat....his first film role at the age of 18 was in Sons of Matthew by Charles Chauvel.  In fact, if you look at his bio - he was in just about everything - Caddie, Newsfront, Bellbird, A Country Practice, Sunday Too Far Away, Homicide, Matlock Police....the list goes on!!

I tried to find my Argonauts badge but couldn't - it must be pinned to a garment somewhere.  Have you got an Argonauts badge?  Were you a member of the Argonauts?