Koala-ty Time

My sister Morgan wrote this post...

Clearly, my number one goal in Australia had to do with my most favorite lovable marsupial, the koala.  It is no secret that I have been veritably obsessed with the koala since about the age of ten.  I can actually pinpoint the start of my koala collection to an exact moment, but before I tell you this story, I want you to have the image of what I looked like right about then…

11 Year Old Morgan Looking Good!

Now, after selling Girl Scout Cookies while in 5^th grade, I got some kind of points to spend at the Girl Scout store, and chose a koala stuffed animal and tiny pewter koala.  So it began, with the koala collection and knowledge growing quickly.  There were koala t-shirts, koala pins, koala figurines, koala jewelry, posters, calendars, decoupage puzzles, aprons, saved boxes of Koala Yummies, and no less than 25 stuffed animals. 

Coming to Australia has been one of my biggest dreams, and seeing a koala up close needed to happen.  And happen it did…

My first up close encounter was at Maru Wildlife Park, and before I knew it I was being whisked away for one on one time with my first koala.  In the state of Victoria you cannot hold a koala, but I was going to be able to pet a koala and get nice and close.  My first impression was how soft the koala was.  Sleepy and soft.  And THEN I asked the koala’s name.  It was, and I kid you not, MORGAN.  NO WAY.  The very first koala I ever got to pet was named Morgan.  Best coincidence ever.  The time was so fast, but really crazy to finally be so close to a koala.

This koala is named what???!!!

In Kuranda, on our day in the Daintree, my mom and I went to the Kuranda Koala Gardens, and for an all too brief moment, I got to hold a koala.  Her name was Maya, and she was about ten years old.  She was like a big baby in size and weight, and those claws really were large.  She seemed unenthused by being held, but I was pretty darn excited.  A few fast pictures, and before I knew it my koala friend was being whisked away.

A dream comes true.

Koalas - soft, sleepy, and just as cute as I wanted them to be.  I have looked at the pictures more times than I care to admit.  The number is lower than 50, but probably not by much…  Now I hope to see one in the wild!!


~Morgan Dill, Resident Koala Expert and Ambassador for All Things Marsupial