Hi, we are planning a trip to OZ in April 2005, including a week with family in Sydney and a week at Cairns (for the reef), and my son is very keen to visit Steve Irwins zoo which is about an hour south of Brisbane airport - has anyone been there, whats is like, is it worth a special flight there, weres nice to stay in the area for `1 or 2 nights ? Any sugggestions appreciated. Carol

I think the zoo is NORTH of Brisbane - on the Sunshine Coast.
I've never been there, though.

Carol - haven't been their either, but marg_oz is right - its at Beerwah, north of Brisbane. Plenty of good accommodation available on Sunshine Coast.

Good accommodation available on the Sunshine Coast but that is a long way from Beewah!
I went to the Zoo recently and have been before Steve was a big name and I did not like it ( now ). I thought that it was over-rated, you can see much more in Cairns or Sydney at Taronga Park Zoo which is also in a much better situation with a lot more to see. Certainly not worth the extra time and effort.
Bye the way Beewah is about 1/2 hour drive from Sunshine Coast. There is no public transport to speak of either. The best way to get there is from Brisbane by train and then a taxi from Beewah.

The zoo is called Australia zoo, it is about an hour north of Brisbane. However, I definitely wouldn't rearrange all of your plans to visit there. We went recently, it was fun but not that different from other wildlife places we went to in Australia, and certainly not worth spending money on extra flights to go to (imho). Steve Irwin doesn't usually go to the zoo anymore anyway. THere is a place near Cairns that you can see crocodiles; the zoo in Sydney will have all of the Australian animals.

Carol - is it to see crocodiles that your son wants to visit Steve Irwin's? If so, it would be much easier to take a trip to Hartley's Crocodile Adventures,about 40 mins north of Cairns city. The animals there are in their natural habitat - cassowaries, snakes, many tropical birds and there is handfeeding (by keeper of course) of very large estuarine crocs. Hartley's has koalas as well, but no cuddling for photos - although you can hold a small croc. Rainforest Habitat near Port Douglas has the best range of animals native to the area, including the tree kangaroo. No koala cuddling there either - the two parks where it is still allowed in Cairns area are Cairns Tropical Zoo (near Palm Cove) and Koala Gardens in Kuranda.

Whoops ..... yes I meant North. Its only because its Steve Irwin that he wants to go, Ive told hiim its unlikely he would even be there.... but I will show him your comments see what he says. Thanks for all your input. Carol

awww c'mon Carol....

squeeze a day off sydney and two off cairns and take 3 days on the sunshine coast.
Get a cheap early flight sydney-brissy,pick up a car and drive to noosa.Take a day trip along the beach to fraser island,check out the croc hunter zoo,go see em feed the sharks at mooloolaba aquarium.
then he can go back to school and tell 'em about the real oz...
-steve irwin
-baby eating dingos on fraser
-diving with sharks at mooloolaba.

That's very wise Carol, and Steve Irwin may not be at his zoo - could very well be off annoying animals in some other country.

Yes, Hartleys Creek Crocodile Farm is the way to go, seeing you will be in Cairns for a week.
Poor old Steve, if he is not getting into trouble by holding his baby out to the crocs, its by swimming too close to whales in Antartica. Steve is a showman through & through, and thus an entertainer, however, it gripes some people.

We spent a day at the Zoo, taking it as a sidetrip from Maleny which I suppose is an hr or so North of Brisbane in the Hinterlands. Maleny, Noosa, are wonderful places to visit, small towns, pretty and not particularly crowded by Calif. standards, however the Zoo is packed with people and not especially different from many other zoos I have visited. There is a crocodile show, but not terribly exciting and I would not go out of my way for it. I think your son is swayed by the hype, because he won't in my opinion, find anything novel there.

Carol,

For a real down under experience arrange some N. Sydney time w/ johnj; he told us he actually trained those dingos; wrestled Steve Irwin and raised those sharks. He also knows how to find kangeroos at Euroka Clearing.

Seriously, while in Tasmania we met a lady who lives near the Glass House Mountains. She told us Steve irwin was scheduled at various times at Australia Zoo and so you might enquire if his schedule fits yours

She also said he is using some of his crocodile wrestling wealth to by up large tracts of virgin timber land in Tasmania to conserve it.

A/D

Hi,

I HAD to join this thread....Pat Woolford you CRACK ME UP! I can only hope the next time I'm in Oz we can meet!

Here's my experience with Steve (well, ok, there was no experience with HIM, because he wasn't there), and the Zoo.

I went there on a famil trip with a bunch of other travel agents. Prior to the trip, we'd been on the "tilt train" travelling down the coast and then doing that excursion. Every single Aussie I met on the train asked what we were doing and when I told them our next stop was Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, they all said "WHAT is IT that Americans find so fascinating about him?" Basically I got the feeling that they all felt he was a twit and we were only slightly less so for liking him.

Well, here's what I like about Steve:

he's childlike and SO enthusiastic about the animals (remember Aussies, we don't have these critters here, and we're endlessly intrigued by them). And, he's NUTS ..I mean really, would anyone you know (or yourselves, pick up a snake and coo about how beautiful it is...and how deadly?)

Now, for my travel agent-behind-the-scenes info And Why I Like Steve Irwin:

This is NOT some guy who figured out a way to market his own zoo. This is a guy who's had a love of Australia and it's animals from the time he was a young boy. The zoo is really a "mom and pop" enterprise. His dad made all the furniture you see in the restaurant by hand, in the early years, before any publicity. His dad is the one who started the zoo, and now, he's the one who's responsible for tending to, and helping injured animals; many of which are AT the zoo. Steve's really just carrying on his Dad's legacy.

The land surrounding the zoo - well it's all Steve's....he's quietly bought it all up so no one could develop it. So, alot of the cash he's gotton from his (terrible) movies, etc, is just poured back into the zoo.

His wife, Terri, who's from Oregon, and is quite content to be in the background, is the "mastermind" for all the promotion, ads, movie deals, etc.

And what did I think about the Zoo itself? Well, yeah the draw is the whole "Croc Hunter" thing". But it IS a nice zoo -- what I really liked, and it may sound corny,is the fact that there tons of Aussie school kids there who knew the name of every animal there! I'd hear them saying "well, there's Sammy the Wombat".

Just my $.02

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Melodie, Your 2 cents is always worth a quarter regardless of exchange rate.
AndrewDavid

Thanks Melodie, and I can be nasty, cynical old woman. I have 8 grandchidren with the 9th on the way, the little ones - 4-6 yrs absolutely adore Steve Irwin, they were so upset when he got such bad press for dangling his young baby in front of a croc. They totally identify with his little girl, Mimbi or Bimbi or something - they keep telling me butI do forget. They do think Steve's a hero and who are we to shatter their little illusions. And he's made heaps and does pour some back into environment, which has got to be better than someone that does nothing.

But while we're on the croc subject I just did a famil today with with Big Cat's new trip out of Cairns. Yes,its a crocodile farm - there are 22,000 crocs on the property it is a farm with it's main reason for being it's markets of wealthy European women - main clients are Hermes and Gucci, thats just for the skins, which these companies consider the best in the world, the meat goes to Europe, with a little bit of local, the organs to China (there's apparently some percieved aphrodisiac value there) and some of the blood is sent to USA and Canada for cancer research. I know this sounds absolutely revolting, but the animals are very well cared for and live in pristine, natural environent -they do kill about 50 a day, but humanely and not in front of the tourists. There's some absolutely massive male crocs, who are right now in breeding mode, the females are much smaller but the males back off very fast if a female is not in the mood. I found the tip fascinating - its just a half day trip out of Cairns for AU$59.

AndrewDavid, thanks for the break on the exchange rate!

Pat, I don't think you're nasty, mean or cynical, or OLD, for that matter -- you have a unique way of putting things and a wicked sarcastic humor that I enjoy! However, I am just SHOCKED that you don't know that Steve's daughter's name is Bindi, named, of course, after Steve's first croc.....this got me to wondering -- take a moment people and think what your kids would be named if you'd named them after your first pet.

Congrats on upcoming Grandchild #9 (YIKES), and for the little ones, you should know that to celebrate Steve's little boy's first birthday (who's name is just plain 'ol Robert), kids get in free on Dec. 1st, so rush on down !

That's very interesting about this new croc farm; sounds like they've found a way to make it produce every which way!

Regards,

Melodie

Melodie - how could I forget - Bindi of course. Actually, your remark about naming a child after a pet cracked me up - I have done it many times in reverse. But going with Steve's idea my first son would have been named "Wags", after an extremely patient wire haired fox terrier. Thanks for the tip about free admittance to celebrate Baby Bob's first birthday(would you believe I have an aged greying poodle who we still call "Baby Bob&quot - our grandchildren are scattered around the country - and I mean scattered. Sydney, Perth, Darwin and the one to come will be Byron Bay. So we never have them all at once (thank heavens!) 2 from Darwin will be here for Christmas and that's about all I can handle at once.

Pat,

Am imagining "Wags Woolford".hehehehee.

I was invited over to friend's a few weeks ago to play "Texas Hold 'Em" poker (which is all the rage here due to a new-ish TV show of Celebrity Poker).

I was the "newbie" - everyone else told me their custom was to think of your pet's name and then, your earliest memory of the name of the street you used to live on and that would be your "poker name" for the night.

Regretfully, not only did I lose my $10 buy-in, but now 5 people know me as "Snookie Maple".

Regards,

Melodie

P.S. glad to hear that you only have 2 of the grandkids during the holidays - I was about to nominate you for sainthood!

Melodie, We are driving down from Oakland to Carmel Valley to see my folks on Friday the 12th. If the traffic isn't too bad can we stop in and say hello?

AndrewDavid

Andrew,

Your folks live in Carmel Valley? Talk about a small world -- I used to live in Pacific Grove! (and I didn't realize you were in Oakland.....just on the other side of the Bay from me)!

Yes, I would love to have to stop by on Friday. Please feel free to call me at (650)854-9649 - that's the office number. Or, if you can't make it on Friday, you could always stop on the way back from Carmel.

Glad I had some moments sitting on hold to check the board today!

Regards,

Melodie
P.S. you're not after my Tim Tams are ya??