Blackbutt Nature Reserve is a 450 acre (182-hectare) former coal mine near Newcastle, Australia that’s been re-imagined into a scenic park with walking trails and native animal species in natural enclosures.

Blackbutt was named for the Eucalyptus pilularis tree, one of Australia’s most important hardwoods. This tree is better known as the Blackbutt, because of the way most of the bark peels off down to the bottom area which is a dark brown or black color.

The reserve contains most of the species we identify with Australia, including koalas, kangaroos, emus, and wallabees. There were also a lot of bird species in the various enclosures. Hint: we didn’t know before we went–feeding time for the koalas is 2pm. They seem to sleep pretty much 24/7, other than feeding time!

We also felt really lucky to get a good look at a couple of Kookaburras and several Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on the trails around the reserve.