- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's new $3.2 million Nocturnal Precinct and one-kilometre-long accessible boardwalk open from 1 November 2023.
- The Palaszczuk Government's Growing Tourism Infrastructure Fund has invested $1.2 million in the precinct.
- Nocturnal experience includes portable thermal imaging camera technology.
Brisbane's world-famous Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is branching out into night-time visitor experiences.
The Palaszczuk Government's 2020 Growing Tourism Infrastructure Fund (GTI) has invested $1.2 million in Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's new Nocturnal Precinct and boardwalk experience.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's Nocturnal Precinct is predicted to increase visitor numbers to 500,000 a year by 2025, generating an extra $3.2 million for Brisbane's visitor economy.
The Nocturnal Precinct supported 14 jobs during construction and 11 new on-going tourism jobs.
Guided precinct tours are focused on seven night-time exhibit spaces and 10 nocturnal species, half of which are new to the Sanctuary.
They include Tree Kangaroos, Potoroos, Pademelons, Bandicoots and Bettongs.
Portable thermal imaging cameras help visitors locate marsupials in their night-time environment without the need for disruptive flashlights.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's nocturnal tours for 20 visitors at a time will run twice nightly, three nights a week.
Bookings are essential.
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said:
"Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's Nocturnal Precinct is an awe-inspiring opportunity for international visitors to shine a light on the secret nightlife of Australia's iconic marsupials.
"Opened almost 100 years ago as a koala refuge, Lone Pine Sanctuary has an enduring reputation among overseas and Australian visitors as a Brisbane bucket list destination.
"The Palaszczuk Government's $1.2 million Growing Tourism Infrastructure investment is backing Lone Pine to attract a new generation of overseas visitors, post-pandemic.
"Lone Pine's night-time precinct opens up an entirely new dimension in marsupial experiences for visitors to discover in one of Queensland's great tourism destinations."
Lone Pine General Manager Lyndon Discombe said:
"We'd like to extend our sincerest thanks and gratitude to the Queensland Government for supporting our vision in developing a transformative and refreshing tourism experience for the Brisbane region."
"Australia has some of the world's most unique wildlife and being able to discover their natural behaviours after dark will be an experience like no other – it's a secret world some of our staff haven't even seen!"
"In addition to the night experience, we're very excited to offer our animals beautiful new exhibit spaces, perfectly reflecting their natural habitat. The new precinct is situated among our working eucalyptus plantation, so although you are only 12km from the CBD, it feels like you're in the middle of the Australian bush."
Images: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/toispouazfw31sgo4ck1q/h?rlkey=qnkn64alpttk0ckii4njd9z0x&dl=0
