"Crikey, Isn't She a Beaut!"
Trip Start
Feb 06, 2011
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18
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Trip End
Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Friday, February 25, 2011
Today, we visited the famous Australia Zoo, founded by the late, great Steve Irwin and his wife, Terri. Australia Zoo, a 76 acre zoo, is located about 50 miles north of Brisbane.
Steve achieved worldwide fame from the television series “Crocodile Hunter”. My boys used to watch this all the time. He died in 2006 doing what he loved best – working on a documentary for “Ocean’s Deadliest”.
Australia Zoo is very nice. Employees of the zoo walk around carrying various animals such as snakes, Tasmanian Devils, birds, small crocs, etc. Anyone can go up and pet, or touch, these animals. One can also have their photo taken with a koala. If you remember, koalas sleep about 20 hours a day, They don’t sleep 20 hours straight; they’ll sleep a few hours, wake up for a bit and then go back to sleep for a few more hours. The one that I held (a 4 year old koala) looked like he was about ready to fall asleep. They are very soft and cuddly. We saw the featured show “Wildlife Warriors” in the Crocoseum. The Crocoseum has a seating capacity of 5,000 and this is where Steve Irwin’s memorial service was held. The show featured snakes, birds and crocodiles. Zoo employees would walk through the audience carrying the snakes so that everyone could get a close look at them. The birds also flew around the Crocoseum and would land on the railings so the audience could see them up close. Then, the big crocodile came out. He must have been hungry as he followed the trainer around and was rewarded with fish. We then had time to wander around on our own.
On our way back to Brisbane, we stopped at the most photographed pub in the world, Ettamogah Pub. This unique Outback Aussie Pub, which is actually based on a cartoon image, is a one of a kind Australian icon. The interior is an equally interesting and eclectic mix of everything Australian. Wayne drank a local “Fat Yak” beer and we shared a delicious Shepherd’s pie.
When our bus arrived at the ship’s pier, we immediately hopped on the ship’s shuttle to the downtown area of Brisbane, the capital of the northern state of Queensland. Brisbane is, indeed, a modern, growing city of two million with a subtropical climate. There are construction cranes everywhere. The downtown area has a large pedestrian mall area that is quite nice. I bought a dress and a light Merino wool sweater while Wayne 'people watched’.
If you will remember, Queensland experienced massive flooding about four weeks ago. Most of the severe flooding was in northern Queensland but parts of Brisbane also flooded. Queenslanders have worked hard to clean it up and we saw no evidence of any flooding on our tour or our visit to the Brisbane CBD. So, for any cruisers reading this blog, Brisbane is open for business.
Comments
Don't you wish you could bring a Koala home - SO cute & cuddly!! Lucy would have a new playmate!!
Cool photos, Karen. Love the one of you with koala bear. You sure know how to whet the appetite to see more photos! You'll have to have a "show 'n tell" party when you get home :-) Love your tidbits about the sights and scenes too. I'm already looking forward to the next one.