Beerwah - Home Of Australia Zoo

On our 'have to go' list was Australia Zoo. Had spent the last few days driving North from NSW passing such places as Ballina, Lismore, Emerald Bay, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay so were looking forward to a relaxing visit to the Zoo. The weather had picked today of all days to absolutely lash it down which was not a good start. We had stayed at a campsite just down the road facing the Glasshouse Mountains. The campsite itself was like staying in the 'bug house' with all kinds of weird and wonderful insect life – mostly occupying the shower block!!

We arrived at the Zoo which is just outside of Beerwah around 9am just in time to see the doors open. The entrance fee is on the steep side - 49 bucks each, but well worth it. As soon as we got in the doors we were approached by a volunteer worker who explained to us where everything was in the zoo and what time the various shows were on. This was invaluable as the place is HUGE and you can easily become confused – or was that just us??

First point of call was the gianttortoises who occupy two areas of the zoo. A lot of the animals are brought out of their enclosures at various points of the day and when we arrived, two of the giants were sitting outside their enclosure with some 'Wildlife Rangers' keeping an eye on them. This is great as you get a chance to pat them which you couldn't normally do in conventional zoos. We did go back and see the tortoises again later in the morning when they were being fed.

The Zoo is also home to a wide variety of snakes, including coastal and inland taipans (the worlds most deadly!), Eastern Brown (2^nd most deadly!) and carpet pythons etc.

Next stop was the dingos which are scarily similar to domestic dogs. Don't be fooled though. The Australians we have spoken to are more scared of dingo attacks than snakes and spiders combined and we have seen some of the spiders!! One of the hallmarks of the dingo is a white flex of hairs on their tail, also they do not bark but howl. They are closer in relation to wolves than dogs. They are so similar in likeness to dogs that you can really be lulled into a false sense of security.

From here we walked to the famous 'Crocoseum' which everyone will associate with Steve Irwin. His face is still everywhere in the Zoo and lots of memorials to him at the entrance to the Crocoseum including lots and lots of brown Zoo shirts which members of the public have written their messages on when Steve died.

Here we took our seats (Jan now had a huge white Australia Zoo plastic poncho – very fetching!) for the three shows of the day. First up was the snake show where the rangers bring out various snakes – they also explain snake first aid which was very informative. Next up was the bird show where various birds flew right around the stadium. We have seen a few bird shows since we arrived here but this was by far the best. The birds just seemed to fly in from the sky and it all felt very natural. Finally it was the turn of the Crocs. The water in the crocoseum was very clear so we got a great view of the crocodile swimming towards the ranger. Fab show!!

From here we took a electric bus kind of thing.... to the Tiger enclosure which sits right at the top of the park. The viewing area is all glass so you can get a really great look at these beautiful animals. There was a brave ranger inside the enclosure explaining facts about them. Just opposite the Tigers was the Elephants which were in the process of getting a Swimming Pool built. Today was the day when the pool was getting finished and we watched (along with the press) the elephants taking their first steps in the water. Not sure if it was just me, but I am sure they had big smiles on their faces. They looked very happy to be in the water.

From here you can walk back down towards the main section of the park via a Kangaroo and Koala 'walk through' section. Here you can feed the kangaroos and see the koalas up close – you can also pet them if a ranger is present.

The zoo also has an aviary where there are some beautiful colourful birds – most of them you can just see in the wild anyway in Australia but still nice to see.

Final activity of the day was to return to the Reptile House to watch the snakes being fed. The staff block off areas surrounding each vivarium and feed the snakes dead mice and rats (they are not allowed to feed live ones by Queensland law). There were two rangers here when this was being done for safety reasons. Most heart stopping moment came when one of the rangers (whilst feeding the taipan) dropped the bait and the snake came out of the glass vivarium – we all held our breaths when he composed himself and managed to entice the snake back in with the bait – phew!!

The best part of the Zoo experience here is the fact that you can really get up close and personal with a massive variety of wildlife. Lots of information is available if you are interested and Lee and myself are now fully fledged 'Wildlife Warriors'!!