Chance to walk with Noosa's wild koalas

HOPEFULLY Noosa National Park will not be koala bare when locals turn out for a special day of recognition on May 3.

A Wild Koala Day walk will be hosted by Bernard Jean from 3pm to 6pm with a chance to spot an increasingly rare species organised by Queensland Koala Crusaders and Noosa Koala Sightings. Bernard and Crusaders president Meghan Halverson will take you from the entrance of the park to Tea Tree Bay and return.

"To celebrate this day we will have a talk about koalas, their challenges and our big hopes for solutions," a Crusaders spokeswoman said.

"We will of course try to spot a koala or two like last year and end up the day hopefully with a beautiful sunset."

Those keen for the outing should bring a camera and binoculars, some water and good walking shoes and see you there. Before the walk, she advises that you read these five sustainable koala watching guidelines:

1. Never touch the tree a koala is sitting in.

2. Maintain a distance of 10 metres (horizontal) from any wild koala - if you suddenly find a koala right above you, move away immediately.

3. Do not surround a koala's tree. Ideally, all humans should remain together in a group to avoid causing the koala stress.

4 .Avoid excessive movement or noise around wild koalas. They are sensitive to disturbance.

5. Do not try to get the animal's attention by making noises.