An 81-year-old retired lawyer is hoping to become one of the oldest men to circumnavigate the globe in a boat to help save the koala.

Peter Steele, from the Gold Coast, will make the journey on his single-mast sailing boat to raise funds to establish habitats for the species.

"The koala is an iconic species. None of us can image Australia without koalas and unfortunately they way things are going that is exactly what is happening," he said.

"They have gone from a population of about eight million down to around 40,000."

Mr Steele plans to collect donations and is set to announce a major sponsor for the voyage which will raise money for his not-for-profit organisation World Wildlife Sanctuaries.

The group buys land to give koalas a habitat where they can live uninterrupted.

The organisation already has about 400 acres near Kyogle in northern New South Wales but hopes to expand further.

"I believe that the best way to help save koalas is to create sanctuaries that are away from the interface of man where koalas have the possibilities regenerating and living as nature intended," he said.

"That is exactly what World Wildlife Sanctuaries is going to do."

Mr Steele on his boat at the Gold Coast. ( ABC News: Michelle Rafferty )

Mr Steele has enlisted the help of one of Australia's leading koala ecologists, Stephen Phillips.

"It is the sanctuary thing that has been happening over the last 20 to 30 years that has made inroads rather than legislation per say," Dr Phillips said.

"All I can do is stand back is admire him, or even in a nautical sense salute him in."

Mr Steele said he had lived a good life and was not worried about meeting with misadventure while on the open seas.

"If something happens to me, fantastic," he said.

"Look at the fantastic publicity it will get for the koalas."

Mr Steele is planning to set sail mid-way through 2017 and expects the voyage to take about six months.