Koalas are one of Australia’s most iconic animals and nothing beats seeing them in the wild for the first time. However this can be easier said than done. Luckily for you, Magnetic Island is one of the best places to see wild koalas in Queensland! Here is your ultimate guide on how to see koalas in the wild on Magnetic Island’s Forts Walk.
Table of Contents
Where do koalas live?
Koalas are endemic to Australia, meaning they are found nowhere else on the planet but Australia. This simple fact means that seeing them when visiting Australia should definitely be on your wildlife bucket-list.
They are found throughout Australia’s East Coast, spanning the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. So if you want to see koalas, it is the East Coast that you want to head to (though there are now also a handful of small introduced populations on the West Coast).
Also – If you are visiting Magnetic Island and want to find out where and how to see adorable wild rock wallabies, go head over to our Magnetic Island’s Rock Wallabies Guide!
How many koalas are left in the wild?
The total population size of koalas in Australia has been difficult to establish, but most current estimates consider it to now be somewhere around 300,000. The National Koala Monitoring Program estimates that there were potentially as few as 287,000 koalas in 2021 and populations have been undergoing significant declines in recent years.
Considering that koalas numbers were in the millions at the start of the 1900s, this is an extremely worrying decline. It was initially a result of hunting and habitat loss imposed by early European settlers, but nowadays this loss is being exacerbated by the rising presence of wildfires, continued habitat loss and fragmentation, road collisions, domestic dog attacks and Chlamydia outbreaks in an already struggling population.
Magnetic Island: The best place to see koalas in Queensland?
Koalas on Magnetic Island
One of the most reliable places to spot koalas in the wild in Queensland has got to be Magnetic Island! This gorgeous nature-filled island is a real gem – not only is it a treat for wildlife enthusiasts but it is also on the majority of general tourist itineraries when travelling along the East Coast due to its endless natural beauty.
Magnetic Island is home to the largest colony of koalas in northern Queensland, with over 800 koalas living there! This makes Magnetic Island a great place to visit for any wildlife enthusiast looking to see koalas in the wild for the first time!
How to get to Magnetic Island?
Fortunately, Magnetic Island is nice and easy to get to, being just a short ~40-minute ferry ride from Townsville in Queensland.
The Magnetic Island Ferry is also pretty simple: book yourself a SeaLink ferry ticket from Breakwater Ferry Terminal in Townsville to Nelly Bay Ferry Terminal on Magnetic Island and you’re good to go. We recommend booking one of the earliest morning ferries you can possibly manage; the first departs at 5:30 am and the earlier you can get there and start searching, the better your chances of spotting koalas!
Once you arrive on Magnetic Island, the specific location to go to look for koalas is the ‘Forts Walk’ – a roughly 2km trail through koala-filled eucalypt woodland, with breathtaking views of the island and many World War II relics also on offer along the way.
Where is the Forts Walk on Magnetic Island?
Getting to the Forts Walk is pretty straightforward from the ferry terminal at Nelly Bay. Just hop on a bus, tell your driver you want to get off at the Forts Walk, and in 10 minutes you will arrive at your destination. From there, just cross the street and the start of the trail will be there waiting for you!
We recommend picking up a day tripper ticket on the bus, which costs around AU$ 7.60 (Jan 2024) and allows you to hop on and off the buses all day as much as you like.
How to see Koalas on the Forts Walk
Now this is where the fun starts! Once you arrive at the beginning of the Forts Walk trail, you will be greeted by a picturesque track surrounded by beautiful eucalyptus trees and enormous granite boulders. This is ideal koala habitat – so keep your eyes peeled!
As you climb the gradual sloping trail, you will be greeted by some stunning views over the island, and hopefully a koala or two! The trail is around 2km and takes on average 2 hours to complete (but we spent a lot longer there enjoying the koala’s company).
Make sure you bring some water with you as it can get pretty hot in the sunshine.
Tips on Spotting Koalas
1) Fur-balls in a tree
Despite being pretty big, koalas can be surprisingly difficult to spot due to them most likely being tucked up and sleeping against the trunk of the tree.
This means you will have to keep your eyes peeled and focused on the trees when walking along – it is crazy how easy it is to walk straight past them without noticing.
2) Koala poop & fallen leaves
A great sign that koalas are nearby is seeing piles of poo and half eaten leaves on the ground. As koalas live extremely slow and sedentary lives, they are unlikely to have moved too far away. So if you do find some of these signs, be sure to stop and properly scan around the area in case the culprit is sat upon a tree nearby.
3) People
There is nothing more telling than seeing a group of people, all staring up at a tree and grinning gleefully, that there is a koala present! And this can often be one of the easiest ways of spotting koalas.
The Forts Walk has become one of the most popular trails on the island – primarily because of the prospect of seeing koalas. We always recommend speaking to other people as you pass along the track to see if they have had any luck. It is one of the best ways to get an idea of the whereabouts of any koalas. And for the most part, people are more than happy to help and share in their joy of seeing a koala!
4) Stick arrows
Yes, you read that correctly! Upon speaking to some lovely locals out on their morning stroll, they told us that after spotting a koala, many of the locals will craft arrows on the ground out of sticks that point towards the tree where the koala was spotted (how kind of them!).
And as koalas are pretty laid-back animals, there’s a decent chance you’ll see it sat there in the same position when you happen to stumble across the sign later.
Side Note: If you are interested in Wildlife and Nature and are travelling to Sydney, Australia, then don’t forget to also check out our guide on Where to see flying foxes in Sydney!
When should you visit Magnetic Island?
Magnetic Island is one of the sunniest places in tropical Queensland. The ideal time to visit would be during the dry season from May to November, where there are mainly beautiful sunny days with temperatures around 25-30C.
Even in the monsoon season, which primarily ranges from January to March, there is still significantly less rain on Magnetic Island than other places in tropical Queensland. So even though you will have some heavy tropical downpours, there are still likely to be many sunny days within this period.
We visited during the high season in July, which was a great time to visit as the weather was amazing, with beautiful blue skies and sunshine, but remaining mild enough to bear at around 25C.
Our day at the Forts Walk
Our day trip to Magnetic Island was probably a little different to most as we really dedicated a huge chunk of our time to the koalas. From our research, it seems that most people recommend a couple of hours for the Forts Walk hike… we ended up spending almost 5 hours there as we just couldn’t get enough of the koalas! We were more than happy taking our time walking up and down the track, spending time with them, and watching and photographing them (all wildlife photographs included in this blog post were taken by us on our day at Magnetic Island).
We were lucky enough to see 7 individual koalas in total and had some unforgettable encounters. Specifically when one decided to climb down from its tree, make its way to the path, where it crossed right in front of us, and then proceeded to climb up another tree on the other side to attempt to court another koala! (But unfortunately for him, he was rejected).
Summary
The Forts Walk on Magnetic Island is an absolute must-visit destination for wildlife enthusiasts or anybody that wants to see koalas in the wild! It is already on most backpacker’s itineraries and we can see why – it is absolutely stunning and full of wonderful wildlife, nature and history.
It is easily accessible by ferry from the mainland in Townsville and it is best to arrive as early in the morning as possible to give yourself the best chances of seeing the koalas. As you wander the trail, keep your eyes peeled for fluff balls sitting up in the eucalyptus trees. And also keep an eye on the ground for signs of koalas including poo or chewed leaves, or maybe you’ll see one one of the stick arrows made by the locals who happened to spot a koala there already!
Also, don’t forget to also take a visit to Geoffrey Bay later in the evening to see the adorable rock wallabies living in amongst the rocks there.
For more Australia wildlife guides, head over to Australia Wildlife & Travel, including our guides on Magnetic Island’s Rock Wallabies, the Daintree Rainforest, Wombats in Sydney and much more!
A very interesting article. Beautiful photos and some excellent tips. Thank you
Thank you very much. Hopefully you can add Australia and its koalas to your travel bucket list for one day in the future 😉 We hope you are enjoying your travels!