Australia Zoo - A Must See When You Visit Australia

Australia Zoo, located in Beerwah Queensland, is the home of the recently departed Steve Irwin, well known around the world as the famous Crocodile Hunter. I have been to Australia Zoo several times in my life, and I was pleasantly surprised that despite Steve's tragic passing, Australia Zoo continues to thrive in his memory and for the wildlife he wanted to protect. I went there last Sunday with friends from Melbourne. The day was awesome and Ralph (visiting) got some great photos, so I thought I'd share the experience and the photos here.

Beerwah is situated in the Glasshouse Mountains. These mountains are a bunch of ancient volcanic rocks that look like glass mountains from the sea. Captain Cook who mapped much of Australia's coastline gave them their famous name. If you ever get a chance to visit Australia, regardless of which city you choose to land in, you can catch a flight to Brisbane, The Gold Coast, or The Sunshine Coast and from those locations the Glasshouse Mountains and Australia Zoo are easily accessible by car or by joining a tour with an operator.

As you drive along Steve Irwin Way (named since Steve's passing) you will pass one of the Glasshouse Mountains along the road. Once you have the seen the Zoo in it's an entirety you must take a drive through the mountains along Old Gympie Road. There are many lookouts that you can drive up to to get a greater panoramic view.

What impressed me the most about Australia Zoo was that all of the animals that I saw seemed be thriving, well fed and healthy. Their coats shone, their feathers were amazingly brilliant, clean and free of lice or other pests that often inhabit animals in captivity. Their enclosures were unusually large, well kept (clean), and well shaded. The array of plants at Australia Zoo makes you feel as if you've just entered into a tropical garden of Eden.

Two new features at the zoo now, since I visited a few years ago, are elephants and tigers. Visitors can feed the elephants. I'm not sure you'd want to feed a tiger but hey, you can ask.

Checkout these photos of the Entrance Ways in the Zoo itself. These are photographs taken near the Tiger and Elephant enclosures. Everywhere you walk in Australia Zoo you find these kinds of surprises. No expense is spared to make these great creatures feel that they are living in their own Divine kingdom!

Eight years ago I phoned Australia Zoo in desperation. I was living in the Glasshouse Mountains at the time and I'd found a very sick possum under my car that needed urgent medical attention. All the animal rescue organisations had their answering machines on, but Terri answered the phone when I called.

She sent two guys up to my place and they took the possum back to the Zoo for care. Apparently there was a virus going around the possum community which ate out their eyes. These guys knew all about it and told me they'd do everything in their power to make the little guy well, or at least make his final moments as comfortable as possible. That's when I earned a huge respect for this magnificent woman. It's a load of BS that these guys are all just about money and profits - they aren't. If they were there would be no way they would have sent two of their own staff to pick up that possum, no charge!.

When Terri ran out into the Crocoseum, I felt a rush of emotion and tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't help it. I can't imagine what she's been through losing Steve. And here she was, lighting up the main auditorium with her passion and enthusiasm. She did a great job of performing in the show. Steve would have been so proud.

I'd guess that Australia Zoo has become the place it is today because of Terri. It has that 'woman's touch' about it. I'd been there pre-Terri days and I can tell you the difference between now and then is outstanding. Back in those days there was one little tuck shop and you could walk around it in one hour. These days it's definitely an all day trip, there is so much more to do to entertain children and stomachs are well catered for!

Earlier I commented how well the birds looked. These photographs support that.

Kangaroos, Koala bears, and Emus.  We all love 'em! 

Tickets are about $55 per adult and less for children. Children are well catered for at Australia Zoo with lots of rides and children's activities. There are also pony rides they can go on for no extra cost.

Food

Beside the Crocoseum is an outdoor (covered) eating area with every type of food imaginable. Meals average between AU$6 and $10 depending upon what you order. You can get everything from sandwiches, chips, pizza, Chinese and hamburgers. The servings are generous and the food is of high quality. If you don't want to break the bank you can take a picnic lunch into Australia Zoo. I saw Lockers for hire, so if you don't want to lug around your lunch, you can pop back to the lockers to collect it when you are hungry.

They also sell ice-cremes, cold drinks and snacks in various areas around the zoo so your stomach and thirst is extremely well looked after there.

Souvenirs

There are souvenir shops all over the place. Most of the money raised helps the Zoo maintain it's operating costs and the animal rescue hospital. You can also buy insect repellent there - I needed some. The mozzies weren't too bad but I still got bitten enough times for it to be annoying.

Smoking

Smoking is permitted in designated areas of the Zoo.

ATM's

Need cash out? Don't stress. There are ATM machines at the entrance.

Hours of Business:

Open from 9 a.m. to 5 pm every day.