Michelle wish was to see the Meerkats at Wildlife HQ Zoo with her Family

Many of our wish recipients love nothing more than getting up close and personal with nature, and for her Wish, Michelle wanted to head to Wildlife HQ Zoo at the Big Pineapple to meet with her favourite animals, the meerkats! After her previous two attempts to have an experience with these unique animals had failed to eventuate, she was very much looking forward to her encounter.

Joined by husband Greg, daughters Renee and Tasma and son-in-law Adrian, Michelle explored the park, spending time checking out the Zoo’s lemurs, baboons, koalas, bears, snakes, crocs, pandas and deer as well as cuddling a quokka before moving on to the highlight of the day – lunch with the Meerkats!

As she entered the enclosure with her Family and zookeeper Lana, the adorable creatures showed their natural curiosity and inquisitiveness as they swarmed towards Michelle. Without fear, they hopped onto Michelle’s lap for photos, cuddles and a tasty lunch of mealworms.  As Michelle hand-fed the meerkat family, she delighted in spending time with an animal that is on top of the wish list for many of us to meet as she created forever memories for herself and those that she loves.

While the Zoo may be famed for its Big Pineapple, let’s just say that for today, Michelle’s smile and those of everyone involved in this wonderful wish outshone the iconic attraction.

Thank you to our wonderful wish team Bethany, Adrian and Jo for fulfilling this last wish and Ange Costes Photography for creating memories forever for their loved ones.

Thank you to our service partner Sunshine Coast Community Palliative Care and the support of Wildlife HQ Zoo on this special occasion.

Ambulance Wish Queensland is proudly supported by the Queensland Government, and we thank the staff and volunteers at both Queensland Health and Queensland Ambulance Service who help our Palliative Care Queensland team to fulfil wishes and create memories.

We would also like to thank our SEQ Hub Local Supporting partner Mingary Care (http://mingarycare.com.au) and  GQS (https://gqs.com.au/) for their support of Ambulance Wish Queensland’s South-East Queensland hub.