Australia Zoo

Australia Zoo is owned by the Irwin Family who are famous for their wildlife conservation and love of crocodiles.  The most famous in the family was Steve Irwin who was known as The Croc Hunter. Steven Irwin had a TV show where he went around the world to learn and interact with different animals. He loved all animals and wasn’t afraid to get close to wildlife. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm for animals led to his downfall and he died after getting stung by a stingray in 2006. Steve Irwin’s legacy still continues through his family. Steve’s widow Terri and their children Bindi and Bob continue to promote animal conservation.

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My family and I decided to go Australia Zoo on our December vacation. I had purchased a two ticket combo for Australia Zoo and Sea Life Underwater World for my family. We decided to go to Australia Zoo because it was the most well known out of the two. We were a bit too eager so we were the first people to arrive at the zoo before opening times.

Once it got closer to opening time, we had about a hundred people lining up to go in. When the gates finally opened, nothing majestic happened, we all just scrambled in. My dad wanted to go on the tour guide circuit so that we could see everything so we did that.

We got off at the Africa animal enclosure which was the farthest part of the park. There giraffes, rhinos and zebras who were in a very big enclosure and were munching on some trees. It was my first time seeing those animals in real life and it was surreal to see them.

Afterwards, we saw the tigers and we were fortunate to being in time to watch the demonstration from the keepers. The tigers seemed skinnier than I imagined. I'm sure that were healthy and well looked after though.

We also saw snakes, otters, kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles. The different zones in the zoo were nicely decorated with statues and plants and each zone was themed. I wish there was more signage though as sometimes we wondered if we were heading in the right direction to see certain exhibits. There were signs but I would have appreciated more.

We were in a hurry wandering around the zoo because we didn’t want to miss the Wildlife Warriors Show which only come on once a day at 12pm. The show is the most popular event at the zoo and it features crocodiles and various birds. The show is hosted in the Crocoseum which is a huge arena where Steve Irwin did many of his crocodile demonstrations for his tv show. It is also where they had Steve’s funeral.

First we decided to have lunch before the show. The Crososeum is attached to the food court. It’s a really big food court which could easily seat 1000 people. They had a variety of food available, everything from burgers, sandwiches to sushi. We had hamburgers which were alright.

After we finished lunch it was time for the Wildlife Warriors show. There were lots of people already at the stadium but there was plenty of room. We sat at the top level, behind a railing which had rope wound around it. I later found out that the rope around the railing was for the birds in the show. When the show began, they had some little birds fly around the arena onto the perches.

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The most fascinating bird was a hawk which had an impressive wingspan. It was a powerful and graceful animal.  When the bird showcase was finished, they brought out the crocodile which was what people were anticipating since crocodiles are the speciality at the zoo. The keeper talked about how crocodiles are stealthy creatures that sense their prey through the vibrations in the water as they live in murky water that is difficult to see in. What I liked most about the show were the birds and the parts where the hosts interacted with the audience. I thought the show was average and I would give it a miss if I went to the zoo again. I was a bit disappointed with Australia Zoo, as I was expecting more animals and I thought the zoo didn't live up to the hype surrounding it.