It was the closest Kirra Coventry had been to a koala in the wild. 

But it seemed the koala wanted the canoes to come even closer. 

Story continues below video.

Ms Coventry said she and her peers could see the koala eyeing their boats as they approached.

“It almost looked as if he wanted to get closer to the canoe,” she said. 

“One of the guys jumped out of his canoe and slowly edged it out to him.”

It was with surprise, and delight, that they watched as the koala jumped into the front seat and cruised out with them to the nearest bank.

With her university lecturers in mind, Ms Coventry recorded the encounter. 

She said the footage had been met with astonishment.

“Everyone’s pretty amazed that he was so happy and so comfortable to jump in and get so close to people – he was so relaxed,” Ms Coventry said. 

“It’s not often that you get to see wildlife like that up close.”

Story continues below map.

The Bendigo student and her peers met the koala yesterday around the Ulupna Island section of the Murray River, at the tail-end of a kayaking trip. 

“The river came up quite high in the last couple of days, and was starting to come down,” Ms Coventry said. 

The students believe the koala became stranded when the water rose and had been out there for a couple of days. 

“The water was flowing too fast for him to get down,” Ms Coventry said.

“Once he was on the shore he wandered off a little bit and drank water for the next five or 10 minutes.”

The Bendigo SES member said it was her first rescue involving wildlife since joining the unit earlier in the year. 

“We lend a hand when we can,” Ms Coventry said.