There were only a couple of things that I really wanted to do in Australia and to visit the Australia Zoo was one of them. Others we have already accomplished, except one, which was the 12 Apostles Drive which we decided not to do as we went to Kangaroo Island instead. The Australia Zoo is about an hour north of Brisbane, and we are staying one hour south, so I knew that it was going to be a bit of a drive to get there however the review of my friend Nicole, who visited earlier this year with her family was phenomenal so we (more me and Andrew said he was up for the drive) decided to make the trek!
To make things easier we even paid for the tollways to get there – we have not gotten the bills yet however from the signs we saw they will amount to no more than $10 AUD. We did make one driving mistake, thanks to Google and it sometimes telling us to get off the highway prematurely which cost us about 20 minutes to turn around however eventually we got to the Zoo!
Some background information – the Australia Zoo was started by Steve Irwin, also called the Crocodile Hunter, who was a TV personality and conservationist in Eastern Australia. With his wife, they took over a 2 acre zoo called the ‘Beerwah Reptile Park’ from Steve’s parents, who had established it in 1970, which was home to native wildlife such as lace monitors, tiger snakes, freshwater crocodiles, magpie geese and kangaroos. The kangaroos were cared for in homemade pouches by Steve’s mum, Lyn. She was an extraordinary wildlife rehabilitator and was quite skilled in nursing injured and orphaned animals, rehabilitating them before returning them to the wild.
In 1991, Steve met Terri Raines, from Eugene, Oregon and their passion for reptiles and mammals was a match made in heaven! They married in 1992, and started filming the The Crocodile Hunter TV Series which was also seen in North America. The wildlife park’s name was then changed to ‘Australia Zoo’, with the mission for it to be the very best in Australia, if not the world! Extensive efforts were made to create habitats, so that all zoo animals could be exhibited in natural environments. In addition, from its humble beginnings as an avocado packing shed, they established the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. In 2004, Steve dedicated the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to his mum. This world-class facility continues to rescue, rehabilitate and release over 7000 native Australian animals every year. Australia Zoo now encompasses over 700 acres and employs over 500 staff, continuing Steve’s mission of “Conservation Through Exciting Education”. Steve Irwin was tragically killed in September, 2006 by a stingray barb that pierced his heart when out filming in the ocean on the Great Barrier Reef.
Here is a map of the Australia Zoo:
The zoo is by the Glass Mountains in a very open area north of Brisbane and it was a nice drive there once we got off the M1 highway. We quickly got parked and as I had bought tickets online, we entered the zoo fairly fast. We checked out some Komodo Dragons, Lizards and Alligators near the admissions area and then made our way to the Crocoseum as I had noticed that a show was about to start!
So, along we walked to the Crocoseum to see the wildlife show – I had not really paid attention to what the show was however I knew birds were involved! It was a pretty impressive structure that had a cafe on the 2nd level with a Dietary Section where you could get Gluten Free fries! I was WAY too hot for fries so I instead had some Coke Zero and ice cream – way better options! We then got seated in the accessible section and the show was to begin! There were two ladies down on ground getting the crowd warmed up and behind us there was an awful racket – the ever present seagulls and the gull with the long beak seemed to be in a fight for something and then I noticed that there was another bird – a beautiful blue bird that was doing all the talking – the parrot on the mans arm! He was coming down to take flight and the other birds I guess thought he was in their territory! So we saw a bunch of parrots fly around then a zookeeper lead out a wombat who really had a mind of her own and did not follow directions and then lastly, a falcon and a stork named Charles who was having a bad day! Charles sure has some long legs! He did not particularly like the fish he was being fed today.
After the birds and the wombat were put away I noticed that the staff put up ropes all around the stair cases so that the guests could not walk down to the water level and the exits were blocked at the water level – we soon found out why! Here comes the Crocodile! Graham was in good biting form – it was a respectful display of what crocodiles do in the wild to catch their prey – they used tapping the ground and water slapping noises to get his attention. He crawled through the water though until he came to the point he sensed the noise coming from and then he put his snout up on the side and walked out. It was amazing to see! There were 2 zoo keepers – one who was holding the fish/food and the other behind him I presume as a look out and safety person. They did mention that they recently had a close call with one of the crocodiles when feeding them.
After that show, we decided to visit some of the different areas of the zoo to check out some Australian animals. First, we headed off to the Quokka’s, Kangaroos and Wallaby’s. We had seen Quokka’s previously when we went to Rottenest Island where they are very present along with another island off the west coast of Australia. Unfortunately, the population is dwindling on the continent as their habitat is being taken over.
Next we moved into the Cassowary and Emu section to check those big birds out! While the Cassowary was not standing, we did get to see one a few days ago, the Emu’s were up feeding and I got some great pictures of them!
Then we continued on our journey though the park, next visiting the elephants, red pandas and the lions! I must admit, for all the zoos that I have been to, including the Vancouver Zoo, this one has the most homey feel and that the animals are in a natural environment.
Now we are well into the zoo lands and instead of walking back, we decided to take the tram as there is a talk going on at the Koala Nursery! On our way to the Shuttle Stop and waiting for the shuttle we were able to see some Giraffes, Zebras and Rhino’s who had just gotten out of their mud bath!
Now, onto the most important part of the day in my impression! The Koala Nursery talk! It sure was a highlight as the Koala mum was out and walking around instead of sleeping in the tree like Koala’s like to do for 20 hours of a day! The naturalist did an excellent talk also on koala’s – some we hard on Kangaroo Island and some information was new – like one Koala mum will take care of other koala “cubs” once out of the pouch so that other mothers can get food! I got some great pictures!
Then we walked back through the zoo to the Wildlife Animal Hospital, which is another part of the zoo and is where both the zoo animals and ones from the wild are taken for rehab. When we got there, RACO truck had just arrived with some birds that were being admitted to the Wildlife Animal Hospital. There is a viewing area for the public – you can see the small bird area which contains a bunch of incubators to keep them warm and then the surgery area and behind it the treatment and cage area for larger animals. Behind the building area also portable buildings which look like they house different populations such as Koala’s or other species that are under their care that cannot be accommodated in the hospital due to size or environment.
Now, that was a fun day! We now had to drive 2 hours south to meet our dinner reservation that I had booked at a restaurant across from the hotel that was recommended for it’s seafood on the Gold Coast – we made it on time (barely) and sat down and had a really nice dinner! I had my favourite salad – caprese (motza and tomatoes) along with an octopus entree! While I had creme brule for desert, it was nothing to write home about so no picture! On our walk back to the hotel, we found a very nice waterfall in front of the Sheraton, which was very cooling – at least in sound, for an otherwise warm night!
Tomorrow, we will travel to Brisbane Airport to catch a plane to Sydney to start our journey back to Canada! Let’s go!