After our lay ins of the previous couple of mornings we were up bright and early today; a 6:30am alarm and out watching the cockatoos on the bird table at 7am! Only up close do you realise how large and majestic these birds really are.
Once again we were treated to a food feast, this time Rob cooked us up an Aussie breakfast; bacon, eggs and mushrooms on the Barbie! 
It had been a lovely stay with the Claridges, and had been spoilt rotten whilst staying for the past couple of days. It was sad saying goodbye, and in a way strange jumping back in the van that we hadn’t slept in for 4 nights now.
As we joined the highway heading north we spotted our first sign for Cairns…and it was only 1684 kms away…not too far left to cover in 3 weeks! As we passed over the Gateway Bridge the views of the Brisbane skyline were great. Not before too long we were turning off the highway onto Steve Irwin Drive…yes people you guessed right, we were heading towards Australia Zoo…Crikey!
As we purchased our tickets and walked into the Zoo we realised there was a lot to see, as well as taking in the shows and talks.
We looked around the otters, lizard and kimono dragon, giant tortoise and Tasmanian devil (who were all asleep) enclosures before visiting the Steve Irwin memorial.
Next stop was the dingo and koala enclosures, and we took several more pictures of these beautiful animals. A new Aussie animal we discovered however, was the cassowary, a bird that looked like it was from pre-historic times.
Onwards to the echidna, kangaroo and wallaby enclosure where you were able to walk amongst our Aussie favourites! We were able to up close and personal with them which was amazing.
Ben also got up close and too personal with another Aussie great!!
Next stop was Nicola’s new favourite, the very cute and cuddly wombat…which was recovering from having an operation on it’s back, and had to wear a protective waistcoat.
Before lunch we visited the elephant and tiger enclosures, and then after lunch took in a croc show at the Crocoseum….as Steve said “Crocs are great!”.
And, a last request from Nicola was to hold and have her photo taken with a koala…named Jaffa (who didn’t stop pooping all through the shoot!).
After a full day of Ben doing Steve Irwin impressions we left Australia Zoo and checked in at the nearest camp site – Landsborough Pines Campground, a quaint little campsite with lots of birds.
Back in the van tonight, read tomorrow to see how we adjusted back into camp life after the luxuries of the Claridge household!!
Last word of the day goes to Elaine, Rob, Kirsty and Megan….thank you so much for letting us stay with you all, we really did have a fantastic time and loved catching up with you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment