Australia Zoo

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Photo by flickr user Maik Radke

Regardless of whether you thought Steve Irwin was an amazing man or a stupid one, it is impossible to dismiss his influence on bringing a fascination with the animal world back into popular culture. The zoo set up by his parents, Lyn and Bob, who was a world-renowned herpetologist and a pioneer in keeping and breeding reptiles and where Steve interacted with animals such as crocodiles from a young age, is now run by his widow Terri Irwin.

Australia Zoo is quite unlike other zoos. The conservation efforts by the zoo are an incredible achievement and the education that you can receive at the zoo is hefty to say the least. As it was once the home of the “crocodile hunter” the crocodile area is understandably substantial and the live croc feedings not to be missed. Other animals on show include the usual international line-up and a strong Australian roster with koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and a plethora of snakes.

The thing that is really different about Australia Zoo though is the entertainment and interactivity. The “Animal Planet Crocoseum” has snake, bird and crocodile shows, while you can hang out with the tortoises and take the tigers for a walk (for a price obviously) and you even get the opportunity to feed elephants, crocodiles and feed the babies in the kid zoo!

Australia Zoo Homepage.

Written by  John Johnston.

Comments, reviews and questions by other travellers

Well, thanks to a timely visit from my brother, his wife and their wee ones, we had plenty of excuses to drop tools and do the tourist thing over the Easter Holidays.

A definite highlight of any visit to the Sunshine Coast has to be Australia Zoo, home of the late ‘Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin. Thankfully, his wife, Terri plus kids Bindi and Bob are very much alive and kicking and continue to own and run the zoo as well as live there. Well, probably not in the zoo exactly, but, as far as I can make out, just behind it.

Australia Zoo versus Disneyland

I confess, I relegate zoos to one of the many activities that we do purely for the children, but crikey, even if a couple of adults were visiting me with no rat bags in tow, I’d still recommend they visit Australia Zoo. Please note, when we were at Disneyland in Los Angeles last November I marvelled at the number of kid-free adults I saw there, Mickey ears firmly in place. I swear we even saw a couple of honeymooners push small children aside in their desperation to get their photo taken with someone dressed up as Bugs Bunny. And they weren’t even Asian.

This is an excerpt. The full article is online at:

http://inthehotspot.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/sunshine-coast-tourist-guide-australia-zoo/

 Annabel Candy - posted 3rd June 2009