Steve Irwin Lives On at Australia Zoo – Crocodile Hunter’s Queensland Wildlife Park

Steve Irwin may be gone but his legacy lives on at Australia Zoo, a wildlife sanctuary at Beerwah on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The zoo is home to Irwin’s family – wife Terri and two children Bindi and Robert – and hundreds of happy animals.

As its name suggests the emphasis here is on Australian animals, but tourists will also find elephants, cheetahs, lemurs, otters, and a host of other precious creatures. It's the Aussie animals that will really excite foreign travelers though. International zoos have the odd kangaroo or koala, but none have the exhaustive collection you'll find at this local wildlife park. Most other zoos around the world don't allow guests to interact with these unusual creatures either. Visitors can walk through areas like Roo Heaven, an open-range enclosure with red and gray kangaroos, and the Kids Zoo with baby farm animals. There are additional opportunities to meet the critters with the daily animal encounters; you could walk with a wombat, get photographed with a koala, or feed an echidna. [caption id="attachment_786" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Australian Koala"][/caption] The enclosures are luxuriously large, allowing the animals to roam freely about areas resembling their natural habitats. This seems so much more humane than the cages many older zoos use, but considering the Irwin family's conservation work this is no great surprise. While visiting make sure you plan to see a few shows. The Wildlife Warriors show in the Crocoseum is legendary, with appearances by giant snakes, trained birds, and of course those enormous crocodiles. With entry costing $49 for adults and $29 for children, a day out at Australia Zoo is a bit expensive. But with zoo admissions helping to fund the on-site wildlife hospital and preserve endangered species, at least you know your money is heading in the right direction.

Tagged as: australia travel, australia zoo, steve irwin, zoos