Australia Zoo – the ultimate wildlife experience
An hour north of Brisbane, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, you will find the infamous Australia Zoo. It’s the ultimate wildlife experience showcasing our extraordinary Australian wildlife.
Steve and Terri Irwin’s vision has always been to make Australia Zoo the biggest and best wildlife conservation facility in the entire world, and there is no other zoo quite like Australia Zoo! Sadly, Steve is no longer with us however he is ever present throughout the zoo with photos, sculptures and voice recordings wafting out amongst the displays and exhibits.
I admit it was a nice surprise to see that Australia Zoo has done a fantastic job displaying our Aussie critters and so many others from other parts of the world.
World flash: New Zealanders tour Australia
I recently visited the zoo with some overseas friends (with kids) and had the best time!
A bit of a zoo nut at the best of times, it was great to experience this with kids – and even better, with kids who’d never seen kangaroos or koalas before (except in a zoo of course).
Be prepared for your Australia Zoo adventure
Take a hat, sunglasses, a bottle of water, wear sunscreen and make sure you’re wearing good walking shoes! The zoo is a big place so make sure your fitbit is fully charged because you are going to ace your walking goals today!
Top Tip: Go early so you can see everything!
The zoo is a huge place. There were many parts of the zoo we didn’t get to this trip, so make sure you allow enough time to see your favourites along the way. Of course, it’s always a great excuse to return!
Kookaburras
Hearing the familiar kookaburra laugh brought a smile to my face – it really is the quintessential sound of the Australian bush! They posed beautifully while I captured some great photos.
Wombats
By far the funniest creature of the day. The wombat bounded full-pelt down the hillside in its enclosure like an excitable puppy!
Kangaroos
Lazily sleeping away their day, the kangaroos were oblivious to us wandering around their enclosure. Mum’s with joeys in their pouch, Dad’s sleeping the afternoon away – these kangaroos were in their element.
Koalas
The most noted thing about the koalas was they sleep up to 20 hours per day! We caught them napping except for this sleepy fella who was very shy. The boys voted the koalas as the ‘favourite critter’ of the day!
Lizards, Alligators and Crocodiles
The size of the reptile seems to vary. Alligators of course, are from South America whilst the Australia Zoo Croc feeding show featured Aussie crocs and talked about how they live in the wild and source their food.
Camels
The New Zealanders were fascinated seeing the camels during their visit to Australia Zoo. In the Northern Territory, we see camels frequently so we’re used to them.
Giant Tortoises
We were fascinated with this Aldabran tortoise. It is the largest species of land tortoise in the world. They grow up to 1 metre tall and weigh around 300 kilograms!
Birds
The walk-through bird aviary had a great selection of birds to view. Native parrots, finches, Bower birds, Kookaburras and kingfishers, stony curlews and many others.
Throughout the park you’ll come across many other birds including curlews, cormorants and darters, (Jabiru) storks, brolgas and cranes and cockatoos. This brolga put on a song and dance for us as we walked by his wetland habitat.
Echidnas
I did try to get a photo of the echidna but it was running around like crazy and even the fastest camera speed didn’t work well. Funny because whenever I’ve seen these guys out in the wild they always amble along at a snails pace. I truly didn’t realise they could move so fast!
Sumatran Tigers
These are magnificent animals looking very calm and serene in their habitat. We saw these when we were in Bali last and learned they were on the endangered list.
Bindi’s Tree House
No doubt the envy of every child, this treehouse overlooks the island where all the Lemurs are.
Read Next: Zoos are for big kids too!
Where to find Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is just an hour north of Brisbane city. Click on this link to choose your travel options to get to Australia Zoo.
Reflections
It was enlightening for me to go to the zoo with young people who’d not previously seen kangaroos, koalas and wombats before.
Watching the reactions, I reflected that we often take our beautiful Aussie creatures for granted and that we really do live in a unique country. A feel good moment for me!
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