The Aussie Patient

The world’s first koala hospital sits in NSW, Australia, and comes packed with the cuddliest creatures, their amusing antics, and moving facts of their vulnerability.

- Kiran Mehta

Everything that stings, bites, and kills is found in our country,” said Tim, my taxi driver from the Sydney airport to the hotel when he heard I’d signed up for a nature-driven holiday. There was some truth to his words: the deadliest spider (funnel web) and the top 10 killer snakes in the world are all proud Aussies. But I was there on a different mission: to track down the cute critters on the island continent. If penguin parades amuse you, head to Phillip Island at dusk to watch the smallest penguins in the world, aptly named Little Penguins, waddle their way out of water and into their sandy nests on the beach, or spot the endangered cassowary while on a stroll along the beaches of Northern Queensland. And in Land Down Under, thousands of sprightly kangaroos with little joeys peeking from their pouches are a delightful sight for animal lovers. My favourite, however, is the teddy bear-like koala for which I headed on a four-and-half-hour drive from Sydney to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie.