Koala Hospital

250
Koalas Cared for Annually
Welcome to the Koala Conservation Hospital Port Macquarie

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

Welcome to the Koala Conservation Hospital Port Macquarie

Come visit us! We're open 7 days a week. We welcome over 100,000 visitors each year to our Koala Hospital, where we provide treatment and care for sick and injured koalas.

The Port Macquarie region has one of the largest koala populations in the country, and we were the first dedicated Koala Hospital in Australia!
At our Koala Hospital, you can take a guided (or self-guided) tour of our koala yards, see our koalas being cared for and treated in the clinic, and learn how to care for and conserve wildlife.
The whole family will love our interactive educational exhibits, and the fascinating ‘Koalaseum’! There’s also a gift shop and a fabulous family-friendly café with picnic grounds at the historic ‘Roto House’ next door.

Opening Hours

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
(every day except for Christmas Day)

8.30am to 4.00pm

Location

Find us on the corner of Lord Street and Roto Place, Port Macquarie (a short two-minute drive from the Town Centre).

Parking, disabled parking, bus parking, and public toilets are available on site.

Get Directions

A Note on Entry Fees

After 50 years of being a free attraction for the community, we've introduced a modest entry fee from 16 September 2024. With the plight of koalas becoming more desperate, we need to find more ways to raise vital funds to continue rescuing and rehabilitating koalas and running our koala conservation projects and research, including wild koala breeding. Click the 'Buy Tickets' button for more info. Thanks for your understanding.

ESSENTIAL STAGES
Koala Care Journey
Rescue Icon

Rescue

Available 24/7, our Rescue Hotline, team, and koala ambulance ensure a rapid response for koala rescues

Rehabilitate Icon

Rehabilitate

Providing expert care to treat and compassionately heal injured koalas, preparing them for a new life

Release Icon

Release

Successfully treated koalas are carefully reintroduced to their wild habitats to thrive again, ensuring sustainability

Research Icon

Research

Focused research on diseases, drug therapies and habitats to enhance koala conservation efforts

Take a peek at some of the koalas you'll meet at our Hospital! Every koala has a story to tell....

Meet our koalas

Take a peek at some of the koalas you'll meet at our Hospital! Every koala has a story to tell....

Meet our Koalas

TREASURES AND TALES

Koalaseum & Gift Shop

What’s a Koalaseum? It’s a museum for koalas of course! It’s a fun interactive space where you can learn about koala life, koala evolution and biology. Listen to koala sounds, touch koala fur, or look down a microscope at koala poo (scat)!

At our Gift Shop, you can choose from a range of adorable koala souvenirs and merchandise. With all profits going to Koala Conservation Australia, you can shop guilt-free! We also have a limited range of merch available from our online shop.

Cafe at Roto House

We’re lucky enough to have a fabulous café right next door!
Home @ Roto-open 7 days- is located in 'Roto House', a beautifully preserved late-Victorian building surrounded by 4 hectares of lawns and trees (managed by National Parks). Great coffee, tasty treats, and plenty of space indoors and out. Grab one of Roto’s picnic rugs and relax under an umbrella on the lawn.

Explore Roto House (a tourist attraction in its own right) and take a step back in time. You’ll often find a local art exhibition on display as well. An idyllic place for the whole family, the Cafe is open 7 days (8am to 4.30pm Dec-Feb, and 8.30am-3pm Mar-Nov).

Warm your wild heart! Book your Port Macquarie Koala Hospital visit today.

Warm your wild heart! Book your Port Macquarie Koala Hospital visit today.

Exciting new Koala Visitor Experience opening in late 2024

NEW! 'Guulabaa' – Place of Koala

Generous donations to our Port Macquarie Koala Hospital following the Black Summer Bushfires helped us realise our goal of building a Wild Koala Breeding facility in Cowarra State Forest (just off the Port Macquarie highway interchange). We named it Guulabaa’, which means ‘Place of the Koala’ (Gathang language).


We've partnered with Bunyah Land Council, Forestry Corporation of NSW, Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail and Wildnets Adventure Park to make Guulabaa a fantastic and welcoming place for the public to visit, learn and play. 


Wildnets Adventure Park, and the Big Koala Sculpture are NOW OPEN, and the main
Visitor Centre at Guulabaa will open in late 2024
. For updates, check in with us here, or follow us on socials.

JOIN OUR MISSION

Get Involved

Adopt a Koala

Adopt a Koala

Adoption directly aids koala rehabilitation and releases, forging a unique bond between you and wildlife
Donate

Donate

Every donation makes a pivotal difference, enhancing our capacity to heal, protect and study koalas
Volunteering

Volunteering

Dedicate your skills to our cause, experience the joy of hands on koala conservation as a volunteer

curious about koalas?

FAQ’s

Are 'Koala Bears' actually bears?

No! Koalas aren't bears, so the term 'koala bear' is incorrect! It's likely popular as koalas can look like small fluffy teddy bears, even though they're not bears at all, they're tree-dwelling marsupials!

At what age do joeys emerge from their mother’s pouch?

Most joeys emerge from the pouch at around 5-6 months, they usually weigh anywhere from 450 grams upward (depending on where they come from). These young emergent joeys sit hugging their mothers bellies or clinging to her back. Eventually they become fully back young, until they are too heavy to be carried. The joeys will continue to feed from the mother and are weaned by 12 months of age.

At what age do koalas become sexually active?

The female reaches sexual maturity at the end of her second year or later and physical maturity at the end of her fourth year. Males – about 3 years sexual maturity and reach physical maturity at 4 years. It is not unusual for this to occur at a younger age as well.

Do koalas get drunk on eucalypt leaves?

The eucalypt leaf is very low in viable nutrients and koalas have a slightly lower body temperature and consequently a lower metabolic rate than most other mammals, to reduce the amount of energy expended per day. By sleeping 18-20 hours they conserve energy and their waking hours are used to feed, move and seek out mates during the breeding season. They do not get drunk on eucalypt leaves.

Do koalas only eat gum leaves?

Koalas eat a number of species of eucalypt plus the flowers, buds, stems and bark. Koalas will also eat Allocasuarinas, Corymbias and Melaleucas so their diet is quite varied.

Do only male koalas bellow?

No, females can bellow also.

How can you tell the age of a koala?

Age is mostly determined by tooth wear on the pre-molar and molar teeth (top jaw). Also skull length and crown to rump length in relation to their weight helps to determine whether they are sub-adult (not sexually active) or adult.

How fast can a koala move?

A koala can climb a tree expertly with considerable speed when necessary. On the ground they are also capable of reasonable speed over short distances.