Australia Zoo QLD

Crikey, what a day! Can you even call yourself an Aussie if you don’t visit Australia Zoo at least once in your lifetime?

By the time we arrived just after 10 am, the place was already heaving with people. We headed straight for the reptile exhibits, then made our way to the Asian precinct, where we managed to score seats in the small amphitheatre and patiently waited for the tiger presentation.

It was a bit of an anti climax. Despite an elaborate setup featuring meat suspended from bamboo poles and another piece temptingly placed in the middle of a pool, accessible only via a log bridge, the tiger they brought out was blind and consequently didn’t discover any of it. Instead, it wandered around while the presenter fumbled through what felt more like a conservation fundraising pitch than an animal demonstration. We all walked away a little underwhelmed.

Things picked up in the African precinct with giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs and meerkats - always crowd-pleasers. We snapped the obligatory photos before making tracks back to the Crocoseum to secure good seats for the famous Wildlife Warriors show.

It was slow to get started but once the crocodiles came out it did get entertaining. We were genuinely impressed to see actual Terri, Bindi and Chandler Irwin all presenting the show in person. We certainly weren’t expecting that, and it was a nice surprise.

By day’s end (close to 15,000 steps later), I think we’d covered the entire park at least twice. I have to say the animal enclosures were all well thought out, the grounds were immaculate, and the whole place was incredibly well organised. I think we just expected a little more spectacle in the spirit of ‘Crikey’.

To cap off a top day we cashed in our trivia winnings for happy hour drinks by pool. Thanks Sunshine Coast, it’s been great.Read more