January 4, 2009: This Place is a Zoo!

We awoke with high expectations for our last full day in Australia. We hopped into the car and set off for our final big attraction, Steve Irwin’s famous Australia Zoo! Along the way we gave in to our appetites and stopped for breakfast at a McDonald’s. I know…I know. We had said all along that we would avoid eating at McDonald’s at all costs, but it was just so handy and we were so hungry… We’ve noticed that McDonald’s in different countries are mostly the same but with some minor differences. In Australia, they tend to put BBQ sauce on just about everything. And I might have expected a “breakfast roll” to be their name for a breakfast burrito, but it turns out that it is more like breakfast on a hoagie bun. Regardless, we got what we wanted out of it…full stomachs!

We continued up the road for an hour or so until we turned off onto a highway road appropriately named “Steve Irwin Way”. More and more signs with pictures of the legendary “Crocodile Hunter” were displayed all the way up to the zoo itself. It might sound kind of sappy, but it couldn’t escape feeling a little sad and a little privileged at the same time to be at the folk hero’s renowned zoo.

After parking the car, we applied plenty of sun block and then we followed the crowds of people to the entrance. We snapped a few pictures in front of the bigger than life image of the “Crocodile Hunter” and then paid our way for admission.

We began by looking at some gigantic old sea turtles...

then some rainforest birds...

then the snakes...

and then the wombats. We couldn’t get over how cute it was seeing a wombat being walked on a leash!

Next we made our way through a small, park-like area where we were able to mingle amongst some kangaroos and take some pictures. They were the brown kangaroos, which are much smaller than the big grays we had seen back in Coffs Harbor. These were much more approachable! They seemed to especially love Sarah! Than again…who doesn’t?!

After the kangaroo social, we made or way to the koalas. We were able to pet these furry little guys as well! We petted the seemingly comatose bears while the zoo keeper explained to the audience that koalas spend something like 90% of their time sleeping! The koalas remained in their siestas while crowds of people stroked their fur and took pictures with them. The only time they would wake would be when someone would touch their paws or face…which the koalas didn't like.

Now that we had petted and taken pictures with Australia’s two most famous animals, we moved on to the elephants and tigers. The elephants and tigers aren’t exactly Australian, but they are still very interesting to see. We learned that the tigers are nearing extinction because they are widely hunted in their native Asian countries. Many Asian cultures believe that eating or drinking powders made from the tiger’s body will give them supernatural powers or will cure disease. I think they are at the Australia Zoo for the purpose of promoting conservation and preservation of them and animals like them.

Next, we saw a few strange birds, some echidnas, and others as we made or way to the aptly named “Crocoseum”.

This is the famous coliseum where Steve Irwin used to wow the crowds with his daring match-ups with the ferocious crocs. We sat down amongst a relatively large crowd of people from many different countries. At the start of the show, a zoo spokeswoman came to gear up the audience. She began by asking people to applaud when she named their home country. She named Australia, to which many applauded loudly. She moved on to Japan, with the same result. Then “Germany”…the same. Then she said, “The U.S.A.” to which Sarah and I begin to stand up and be recognized like the others. Instead of the usual applause, there were only a few people clapping (likely other Americans) and the majority of the audience booed and hissed! We certainly didn’t expect that! It was as if George W. Bush himself were there. A little disappointed and surprised at the reaction, we and the other Americans who were scattered about the audience sat back down. Besides that one point, the show was very good. They began with some snakes, then some birds, and finally…the crocodiles!

Watching them feed the crocodiles was quite intense. We could hear the clap of their jaws snapping together as it echoed throughout the stadium! It was very interesting to watch, but it was all over very quickly. After a brief video on the jumbo-screen from Mrs. Irwin, we headed out for our final rounds in the zoo.

We saw some dingoes, a crazy looking bird called a cassowary, and a few random lizards running around as we made our way toward the exit. At the exit, there was a memorial bronze statue of Steve Irwin and his family. It was obvious that it moved many people who were very fond of him.

Feet tired and skin hot as usual, we hopped back in the car and headed back to Brisbane. We got back to the hotel and cleaned up and changed clothes to head out for our final dinner in Australia. Sarah dawned one of the dresses she had bought back in Sydney and she looked amazing! I wore my favorite shirt that she had bought for me in Surfers Paradise.

We ate dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant alongside the river. It was very pricey, but we figured our last dinner here should be special. It was very good and we had a wonderful time. The waitress even spent awhile chatting with us as we inspired her to travel and look into couchsurfing, as well as teaching in Japan. I really think we had her completely convinced to do it! After getting stuffed, we snapped some of our last pictures, with the bridge illuminated in the background.

We then walked back to the hotel for the last time on this journey. We lied in bed and recounted the many wonderful times we had shared with each other along the way. Obviously, there were too many to count, so counting the fantastic memories worked at putting us to sleep the way one might normally count sheep. Before long, we were both sleeping our last Australian night away.