The 10 best places to see kangaroos and koalas in Australia

Out of all Magnetic Island’s majestic hikes, the Forts Walk is an absolute must-do. The walk is an easy one, and can even be done in your beach get-up. Hiking boots or not, the walk is worth it for the wow factor of coming across a cuddly little koala in the wild. It’s not uncommon to come across multiple furry friends sleeping in the trees that line this hike. To keep the action going, you can catch the Magnetic Island shuttle bus to the nearby Koala Park by Selina, where conservation and education are the main priority. Tour the park, have breakfast with your new furry friends and the park rangers, or even spend the night.

As it turns out, it’s not only humans who love the whiter-than-white sand at Lucky Bay. Kangaroos regularly dwell right on the water’s edge at Lucky Bay and in the bordering bushland of the Cape Le Grand National Park. Kangaroos are also nocturnal animals so your best bet at an encounter will be visiting the beach in the early morning or at sunset when they're out and about. With its clear blue waters and furry visitors, it doesn’t get much more Aussie postcard than Lucky Bay.

South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula is a rugged beauty with its beautiful cliff faces and rocky shores. Amongst those coastlines lie plenty of bouncing kangaroos. Take it to the next level with one of the most up close and personal experiences you can get with wild koalas in Australia: at Mikkira Station, you can camp amongst a koala colony. If you’d just like to pop in during the day, the ex-sheep station is also a perfect spot for a picnic, where you might also come across one of the free-roaming emus. The property is gated so make sure you give the tour operators a call over here to get a key for your visit.

If a couple of hours of koala spotting isn’t enough for you, you can spend the whole night at the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary. You'll really be amongst nature in one of the property's 20 glamping tents, but if you prefer four solid walls, you can opt for the deluxe rooms or suites. Wake up in the morning and embark on the sanctuary skywalk, which brings you that little bit closer to the koalas in their perches. All the koalas here are in great care at the koala hospital to rehabilitate them from being sick or injured.

So, here’s the thing. Koalas aren’t actually native to Western Australia. Never fear, because Yanchep National Park is home to a koala colony introduced way back in 1938. The real-life teddy bears, which you’ll spy today from the raised boardwalk, are actually descendants of the koalas from Kangaroo Island in neighbouring South Australia. There are also nine hiking trails, bound to bring you face-to-face with one of the park’s many kangaroo inhabitants. The best part is you’ll find all this wilderness just 40 minutes away from Perth.

As the name suggests, there are no prizes given to those guessing what animal you’ll encounter on Australia’s third-largest island. The native wildlife here is extraordinarily abundant so keep your eyes peeled for more than just kangaroos: seals, sea lions, platypi and echidnas all call Kangaroo Island home. Best yet, this spot also hosts a teeming koala population. The greatest places to see them are in conservation spaces, Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, and in the wild along Cygnet River.

This little plot of land may be lacking in size, but it makes up for it with a majorly dense koala population. More than 200 koalas call Raymond Island home and they can be visited via a super short ferry ride from Paynesville in the Gippsland region of Victoria. The island’s famed ‘Koala Trail’ begins right as you step off the ferry. You’ll only need to walk two kilometres for an almost guaranteed furry friend sighting in the wild.

Just a 40-minute drive from Canberra’s CBD, you’ll find a wonderland of Australian wildlife that’s being taken care of by rangers and volunteers, but is also still left to roam free. How’s that for having your cake and eating it too? Tidbinbilla Reserve is known for breeding endangered populations back to abundant life and includes its koala population, which has been cared for since 1939. Visit the Eucalypt Forest that fences off any predators to spot an adorable little koala doing its thing, or embark on one of the park’s 21 trails to spot a kangaroo, or even an emu or platypus.

Just over one hour from Melbourne's CBD, this native wildlife sanctuary-cross-zoo is home to a hospital for treating injured animals. At Jirrahlinga, you can see lots of Australian native fauna, including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, birds, reptiles, dingoes, echidnas and more. Keepers are knowledgeable and friendly, and if you're lucky they'll let you get up close with the koalas, hold a snake or have an up-close encounter with a lizard. Look out for the bird near the office that does a perfect imitation of the office phone ringing, followed by, "Hello, Jirrahlinga?"

If you're crazy about koalas, this is where you should go. The Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie does some genuinely incredible work in fighting to save one of the world's most adorable animals from extinction. A licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility, this place takes in injured koalas, nurses them back to life and then releases them back into the wild. A volunteer-run not-for-profit, the Koala Hospital is free to enter, with donations and gift shop sales all directly funding their conservation efforts. Expect to meet real koalas, check out a koala museum, go on a guided tour, and head behind the scenes to see the koalas in hospital.