A Walk in Noosa National Park provided a great opportunity to "talk koalas" and get a view of one of our wild koalas in town on #wild koala day!

Visitors and locals joined us to discuss the plight of the koala and have a search and we were pleasantly surprised to see "Hilaire" high in the canopy along the emergency track in the park. 

As we guided 3 groups of walkers after an initial discussion near the information centre in the park, I could smell the koala before we saw him. Alyssa Beasley was visiting with her American partner and were quite keen to see a koala in the wild. She shouted "Is that one?" and we gazed into the canopy to see him eating and moving quite high up in the trees. Cameras and binoculars came out and you could hear the "oohs" and "Ahhs" as many spotted their first koala in the wild.

One walker said that she had been living in Australia for over 12 years and this was her first sighting in the wild.

Koalas are under threat of extinction and we need to work harder and smarter in collaboration with others in order to save koalas in the wild before it is too late. 

We are so pleased with the outcome of awareness and interest that such a day provided.

After all the groups were able to see him, a smaller group left the park and walked down to Hastings Street and up the Veridian Track to Laguna Outlook. "Maya" and "Baxter", the Detection Dogs for Conservation representatives put nose to the ground and sniffed out some poo on the way up but no further koalas were spotted on the track.

The sunset was magnificent and we are very grateful that many joined us for such a glorious afternoon.

Each year, awareness is growing and "Wild Koala Day" is our opportunity to share far and wide!

A great big thank you to Koala Clancy Foundation for their initiative and drive to set up a day that will continue to delight year after year!