The Crocodile, Steve Irwin’s family built the Australia Zoo up from its beginnings as a small reptile park. His famous show spread the word about animals and conservation as well as news of the Australia Zoo which is located in Queensland in the city of Beerwah. You can easily get there by using a car hire service, such as Budget Rent a Car. Because of the popularity of the show and Steve Irwin, the zoo, which is still run by his family has grown to 100 acres in size and has been named Australia’s major tourist attraction many times.
Family Fun at the Zoo
Before getting to the zoo, the best advice we received was to plan the day ahead. That way you can know what special events are happening during that time and also map out your day according to the schedule of show times throughout the day. If you plan and map everything out ahead of time, you can be sure to see everything that you want to see. The page that has the times of the daily events also has a list of what they recommend to bring with you for your day at the zoo and also what not to bring. There is also a list of 10 highlights that you might want to check out while at the zoo.
In addition to those recommendations, here are 5 more things that our family thought were special things that we were able to do at the zoo:
Starting at just $50, they have adoption packages available. You can choose not only the type of animal, but you can name which animal you want to “adopt”. Your funds help the zoo care for the specific animal you choose. Our daughter loves giraffes, so we chose Forrest the Giraffe for our animal adoption. They sent us a great thank you pack with some great souvenirs to remember our time spent at the zoo.
We love this idea but did not have a chance to spend an extra day at the zoo. They have 4 different ‘Zoo Keeper for a Day’ programs available for the kids. The four different programs include 2 based on ages, a reptile program, and another other for kids with sensory needs. Next time we get to see the Australia Zoo, we are going to make time so that our daughter can do the zoo keeper for a day program.
Get a Professional Photo with the Animals
If you want a family photo with a certain animal, they have a schedule of times where you can go and have a professional pictures taken with an alligator, koala, snake, or bird. They also had some photographers around the zoo taking more candid type shots as well. It is a great memory keepsake of the day at the zoo.
Before the reptile park became the Australia Zoo, it was once called the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. In addition to all of the wonderful animals, the landscaping that includes plants and flowers from Australia and all around the world is pretty magnificent too. It makes for great surroundings for the animals and created a lot of interesting views for us while we made our way through the zoo.
Conservation is the Big Takeaway
If visitors to the zoo learn anything at all from their visit, it should be the importance that is put upon conservation. Both animal conservation and protection of our planet’s natural resources is an overlying theme in everything you see and do at the zoo. The zoo even has programs where people can help donate to special causes and specific projects they have set up. Steve Irwin felt his mission in life was to help save and conserve wildlife. I feel like he has really spread the word and showed a lot of people to appreciate animals in a very special way.
