Australian schoolboy finds koala trying to drive a car

A schoolboy from rural Victoria returned home yesterday to find a furry carjacker behind the wheel of the family Land Rover.

Sam Box, 15, told 9news.com.au he had just gotten off the bus after school when he found the koala “trying to drive”.

He quickly snapped photos showing the koala sitting in the driver’s seat with its paws on the steering wheel.

“We see them a fair bit here but never in the car,” Sam said.

He said he made a bit of noise so it would move on but the friendly intruder was not afraid.

“It was checking me out as much as I was checking him out,” Sam said.

“I opened the door and he just got out and walked away.”

Sam and his father Michael Box live on a 200-acre sheep farm at Maude near Geelong.

Mr Box said he “couldn’t believe it” when Sam showed him the photos.

“We have a really long driveway and once I saw one crossing the driveway and I went and got him and put him back in the bush, he was just lost,” Mr Box said.

The region near Geelong is becoming famous for its koala encounters.

During a heatwave in 2009 a baby koala abandoned by its mother went viral after taking a dip in a bucket on the verandah of a family home in Maude.

The young koala had wandered from its gum tree about 20 metres from the house to find refuge from the heat of the sun when temperatures reached the high 40s.

Images of the dehydrated koala, nicknamed 'Star', were circulated around Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

Have you caught something interesting on camera? Send an email to contact@9news.com.au