Steve Irwin's 'Australia Zoo', at Beerwah

Wonderful place! Not a huge zoo yet, but they are expanding. The emphasis here is on kids, kids, kids, and conservation education. The bigger, brasher, and bolder, the better!

Left: When we entered, a staff member (beautiful!) approached carrying an American Alligator baby (also beautiful!) for us to pet. The theme here is CROCODILE!

Shortly after we arrived, it was showtime at the Crocoseum, the specially-built set of grandstands used for public crocodile spectacles (and which I had seen before on Internet video, where Bindi Irwin, Steve's daughter, had given her eulogy for her father during Australia's recent special day of remembrance, and which was televised all around the world).

Showtime included snakes, birds, and Murray the Crocodile.

Four large snakes (pythons) were featured, including the world's longest, Australia's own Reticulated Python, which I believe he said grew to weigh 280 kg - enough to kill people and livestock by constriction, if given a chance. An actor, playing a stereotyped Australian Boor, entered and acted the part. He started beating a rubber snake, all the while yelling 'you're a quitter, just like that Ian Thorpe!' (Australia's pre-eminent 2000 & 2004 Olympic Gold Medal champion swimmer, who had just announced his retirement several days before). The audience gasped and loudly booed the Boor. Then the rubber snake struck the Boor, and he fell over dead. The audience cheered. Then the staff called in the medics, who came with a stretcher and carried the rubber snake away. The audience cheered again. All very funny, and very effective education, on how Australian kids should not treat snakes!

The first birds released were a set of homing pigeons, who then swooped around the Crocoseum, and flew far, far away. Periodically thereafter, the staff member who released them was seen running panicked around the Crocoseum, trying to catch his birds again. Very funny! Then they released a number of parrots, who swooped around the Crocoseum and landed on the arms of volunteers chosen for the task from the audience. These birds were free to fly away if they chose, but they nevertheless stayed in the grandstands (the only exception being a somewhat-unhappy macaw, who clung to a fence, and whom staff had to fetch when he refused to return). Both native parrots (black & brilliant cockatoos) and South American macaws were featured.

Murray the Crocodile was one scary dude, and the staff treated him ginger respect. They lured him on with food as he swam around the Crocoseum's pool, and his chomping jaws echoed with power. Crikey!

After the show, we looked at the rest of the zoo. All kinds of creatures were there, including cassowaries, koalas, wombats, Galapagos Tortoises, Tasmanian devils, Asian elephants, and tigers.

People from around the world had also signed a number of Australia Zoo khaki shirts, and fashioned the shirts into a makeshift Wall of Remembrance for that inspirational advocate of conservation, the Crocodile Hunter himself, Steve Irwin.

Asian Elephants

Tigers

Wombats

Cassowary

Galapagos Tortoise