The cutest hospital in the world (this is my personal opinion) is one of our koala hospitals, this particular hospital is in the town of Port Macquarie which is on the North Coast of New South Wales here in OZ. This hospital has been in the news lately because the patients are about to become movie stars. National Geographic has decided to bring this wonderful hospital to everyone attention in a new show called Koala Hospital.
Koala Hospital Ambulance used to transport sick and injured koalas in the Port Macquarie area. (From the picture gallery)
Koalas Hansel and Gretel, only few weeks old, all strapped up at carer Jodie Isaac’s Hannam Vale home near Koala Hospital clinic in Port Macquarie. Picture: Sarah Rhodes
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has been helping injured and sick koalas for almost 40 years now, and like a lot of these types of places, the people that work there are mostly volunteers who have dedicated their time and expertise in helping these animals.
A baby koala hangs on to a worker’s foot at the Koala Hospital at Port Macquarie in northern NSW. (From the picture gallery)
See more photo’s of the Koalas at the hospital in news.com.au picture gallery.
They are sooo cute…
Hi Princess Laila,
They certainly are.
such a cute hospital, great moments and shots!
Hi xandimusic,
It’s good to know that there are hospitals like this, they are all very much needed.
Thank You for visiting and taking the time to comment.
Love these photos. Last one is the cutest among all.
Hi Arindam,
You just can’t help but love the koalas, they are gorgeous.
Very high cuteness factor on this post, Mags!
One just wants to hug them… Love koalas.
As a little girl, I visited a ship in our harbour back home in Sweden, with my mom and some other people. I was given a stuffed Koala and I still remember the name of it: Kirribilli …
Hi Rebekah,
I totally agree, there is nothing like a hug from a koala.
The name of the koala (Kirribilli) you had as a child, I have a bit of info you maybe interested in.
Kirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirribilli_House
How extremely cool! I always figured it meant something, in some language …
Thank you
My stuffed koala was called “Fluffy”. I took it to bed with me every night. It was made from kangaroo skin because, even back then, koalas were protected. The fur eventually wore off all the protruding bits, but there was no way Fluffy was allowed to be taken away from me. My mother kept trying to replace it with something else, but Fluffy was irreplaceable. I think that I originally received it when my family “abandoned” me in the isolation ward of a hospital. Fluffy and I survived the ordeal together.
I gotta agree with you about it being the cutest hospital Mags!
Do you know when the show is coming to our screens? I will definitely be watching it, so thanks for the heads up!
I shared this on my FB page and Twitter.
Hi barb19,
In the news it mentioned, Koala Hospital, would be premiering on Nat Geo Wild this Sunday. I’m assuming that is Sunday the 18th (Australian Time)
Here is the web site to Nat Geo TV.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/?source=NavNGCHome
It is not there yet, but keep your eye out for it.
I have a link in my post to the news article if you would like to read it, I put the link on the word news in the post.
Thanks Mags, I just read it.
I wont be able to watch the show – don’t have pay tv.
Wish I lived in Port McQuarrie – I would be one very happy volunteer!.
Don’t give up hope, the link I put in to Nat Geo TV, does show full episodes of some of their shows, you may have to wait for awhile before it becomes free, but keep the link, and see if “Koala Hospital” becames available in a few months time.
I will definitely keep the link – saved it to my favourites.
Thanks again Mags!
Everybody loves koala bears, and the babies are so cute!
Hi lolabees,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, you are spot on, I have never met anyone who didn’t love the koalas.
Very cool. It’s like a cartoon come to life!
Hi El Guapo,
“A cartoon come to life”, but definitely a lot better than a cartoon.
Hi Mags, In our part of the country, there’s a turtle hospital – http://www.reefhq.com.au/home/turtle_hospital
Cheers, Mal.
Hi Mal,
That’s fantastic, I see they only opened it in August 2009, where would our animals be without these wonderful people that put these places together.
I see they are able to raise a bit of money by having tours of the facility, I’m sure there must be a lot of people that would go on such a tour, I know I would.
I love those little baby faces! Koalas, like humans, tend to get a bit grumpy looking when they get older. However, they do show a lot of patience with human tourists, and they have such readable facial expressions. You know exactly what they are thinking; it’s not always very flattering to their “visitors”!
Hi Lady Marilyn,
They show a lot of patients especially in the wildlife parks, where they are being handed from one person to the next for a photo, but they rest quietly on someones arm and I’m sure they love the attention.
This is just melt your heart cute. I’m scratching at the computer screen trying to hold them. Thanks for sharing. When you get a chance snuffle one for me…what does a koala smell like?
Hi Barb,
Yes Red Nomad OZ is spot on.
Eucalyptus leaves are their main food, they eat around 1.1kg or 2.5 pounds of leaves a day. I wouldn’t call the smell a straight eucalyptus, maybe more like the eucalyptus tree or if your not sure of that smell, if you have smelt eucalyptus cough drops that is very close.
FANTASTIC! I’d heard there was a hospiral – but didn’t know anything about it!! What a cool job!! I’m surprised it’s not in Gunnedah – they claim the highest concentration of koalas in OZ, and therefore the world!!
And to Barb above – koalas smell of eucalyptus!! Even their poo …
Hi Red Nomad OZ,
It would be great to work in a place like that, the only trouble for me would be having to hand back the animals, I know I would get attached.
Awww – they are so cute
Hi wolke205,
You just want to pick them up and cuddle them.
Yes, I would love to, but just a baby Koala
I believe there’s also a koala hospital right on your doorstep, at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which I shall be blogging about ere long. And, there’s probably one at Australia Zoo … but, that caters for all kinds of wildlife, not just koalas.
We have a joke that my wife (Australian) has never seen a koala in the wild, where I (occasional Pommy visitor) have!!
Hi travelrat,
You are correct, Lone Pine does have it’s own hospital, and also Australia Zoo which as you pointed out caters for all animals. But it’s the Port Macquarie one that National Geographic decided to do the show on, it’s more stand alone in the sense that it isn’t a wildlife sanctuary, the patients are transfered by ambulance.
The koala isn’t that easy to spot at times, curled up sound asleep on a tree branch, or just sitting there staring at you. (They have very poor eye sight)
But still it just doesn’t seem fair that you have spotted a koala but your wife never has.
I should think Discovery/Animal Planet have dibs on filming at Australia Zoo. But, I really think Lone Pine deserve a mention; I thought it was a great place. But, I’ll reserve further comment for my blog.
As for Lorraine not seeing a koala … it’s her own fault; she preferred playing cards with her mother to coming for a walk with me and her Dad!
I will be looking forward to the post.
Playing cards, well that does explain explain a few things.
Oh my gosh — that last photograph is priceless!
Hi Laurie,
I can only agree.
A bit of trivia, that koala would happily stay like that as the worker walked around, and would have no trouble sleeping as well.
I love this! How adorable they are and I’m grateful that people care enough to watch out for these very special creatures.
Hi SDS,
I think it’s wonderful the work some people put into these places, a lot are all volunteers, and their work is priceless.
Very cool Mags. Although I wouldn’t have imagined a Koala hospital … Hello … Earth to Frank … It makes sense! Thanks for sharing.
Hi aFrankAngle,
Well a koala hospital is not something you would generally think about, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
How adorable!!!! I just love these pictures!!! I just facebook and Twittered!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Hi Peggy Franz,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, I hope your friends on facebook and twitter also enjoy reading about our soon to be movie stars.
It is such an inspiring hospital. I would love to volunteer there. It must be so rewarding to look after the koalas. The one hanging onto the leg is so adorable. Awwwww.
Selma: Is Koala Park, at West Pennant Hills still running? I’ve visited it twice, in 1992 and 2007 … second time, it looked rather shabby and run down, but they did seem to have given the highest priority to the care of their animals.
It’s still going, Keith, believe it or not. I haven’t been there for years but like you was impressed by the care given the animals even though the conditions were a little shabby. I might need to pay them another visit.
Hi Selma,
I agree, I also would love to work there, I think helping animals is a great way to volunteer your time.
Ohhhhh soooooo cute baby koalas!!
Hi Fergiemoto,
They certainly are very cute.
This looks like a really fun place. And it’s quite understandable why everybody thinks the koalas are so cute – simply because they are. My favourite picture is the one with the koala around the leg. Such a fun moment. I might have to watch the National Geographic show!
Hi munchow,
Yes the show should be good, I am looking forward to it as well.
The last pictures is so adorably sweet! I sent the link to this post to Tim – he’s a huge koala bear lover although he’s never seen one in person, just on TV.
Hi Barbara,
Yes the last picture seems to be the favourite.
I hope Tim enjoys the post, it is a shame he has never seen a koala.
Yup, he LOVED the post and the pictures!!!
Thank You for letting me know.
Imagine what the workers at that hospital would have said forty years ago if someone had told them there’d be a television show about it someday. Most reality shows seem empty and pointless, but this one sounds like a good idea. Great post, Mags!
Hi bronxboy55,
I agree, I think it’s going to be a great show and all the stars are cute.
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