Steve Irwin's Shrine

That would be an apt way to describe Australia Zoo. A better way would be Steve Irwins most excellent amazing shrine! I expected a something or another about the crocodile hunter; it came off as a tribute to Steve and his family. Now with that out let me tell you about one of the best Zoo’s I have ever attended...

The Australia Zoo is 1600 acres big; that would be approximately 2/3 of a mile square. This place is huge and not all too crowded either. The Zoo is relatively new and is laid out very very well. The buildings are modern and shiny; the grounds are well tended loaded with local floral and fauna. Walking through the Zoo was a pleasure and well worth the side trip in and of itself.

As you may expect from the crocodile hunter there is a disproportionately large area devoted to reptiles - yes and crocodiles. The crocodiles all have names and are displayed in their own pens like Steve’s trophies. Complete with a description of how Steve captured them accompanied by a picture of Steve. With the exception of Elephants and Tigers the rest of the Zoo is devoted to animals found in the Australian Outback.

The real attraction of the Zoo are shows!

There are Turtle Shows, Elephant Shows, Camel Shows, Fox Shows, Birds of Prey Shows, Koala Shows, Tiger Shows, Crocodile Shows, Bird Shows and a few others we did not see. To write a paragraph for each would clearly give me the record for the single biggest blog entry for the year. So let me tell you this

1. Even without Steve Irwin, somehow the Crocodile show is still very compelling.
2. The Elephant show included an opportunity to feed them. Looking an elephant in the eye while they take their lunch from your hand is quite an experience, and to do it four times is four times as fun!
3. I think the most interesting show was the Birds of Prey. Having a staring contest with an owl flying directly towards me, with their claws out is cause for alarm (and a very quick duck for both Dennis and me.) FYI - the bird handler was about 7’ behind us.
   

All the Zoo employees were great! Many were out there talking with the patrons usually holding a bird or small reptile; sometimes escorting a camel or elephant around the Zoo. After the shows the presenters were accessible and eager to answer our questions.

And in addition to the great grounds, caretakers, animals the weather cooperated. It was a perfect day 70F in the shade and 80F in the sun.

Wow what a day!