Koalas eat only the leaves of a few species of gum tree, and don't seem to drink at all. The best place to see a koala is in a zoo or wild-life park, but you may occasionally see them sitting in trees along the country roads of NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Because they sit so still, they can be difficult to spot. Koalas are completely protected, but disease has caused the numbers to diminish. Most Australians regard them with mild affection while wondering why the rest of the world finds them so much more interesting than other, more active animals.
Efforts are currently underway to improve the health and numbers of the wild stock.
Bandicoots come in different kinds, but most of them vaguely resemble rather pretty rats. They are brown or greyish with bands or stripes down their sides, they have long, rat-like but lightly furred tails, sweet faces and a long, hard, rubbery nose. Some species are very rare, others seem reasonably common in Tasmania and parts of the mainland. Since they are nocturnal, you're not likely to see them, but they often leave signs of their presence in lawns and garden beds where they have been digging for grubs. They seem to occupy the same niche as a mole.