Brisbane, Australia

Ok, back for round two of the Australia trip! After we left Sydney, we flew to Brisbane. I will say that I am glad that we did not end our trip here. While it was fun and the weather was nice, there just wasn't as much to do and see in Brisbane. We stayed right in the heart of the town ... we were able to walk to alot of shops and the pier. It wasn't the ocean you were looking at so for me it was just more water.

I will say the highlight of our stay in Brisbane was the daytrip we took to the Australia Zoo. This is the zoo that is owned and operated by the Irwin Family ... yes, that is right ... Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter!" It took us about an hour to get from the hotel to the zoo, but well worth it. It is unlike American zoos because they want you to really "experience" the animals up close. None of the animals are in cages, rather they are in spaces that look like natural habitats. If they are dangerous animals (tigers, lions, etc) they are put behind glass so that you can still have a great view. While at the zoo, I got to hold (and pet) a couple of koala bears (yes, they are super soft!) I also got to hand feed an elephant (they snot on your hand when the feed) and we also got to walk through 'Roo Heaven! This is an area where the kangaroos are able to roam free with the visitors in the park. We got to pet and take pics with the kangaroos. (Check out my earlier blog for these pics). It was really cool!!

I was a little nervous here ... can you tell???

We also saw some very OLD tortoises that were HUGE. These guys (and gals) live to be over 200 years old and are gigantic! One of the last things we did while at the zoo was attend the show at the crocoseaum. This was a large outside theatre with a large pool in the middle. During the show, they brought out birds, elephants and crocs! These crocs were huge and they explained all about their habits and how to avoid being eaten :) Believe it or not, it is a huge problem in Australia. After we left Brisbane and got to Cairnes, the people in town all told us to stay away from the ponds and lagoons as they were croc havens and many people have been bitten.

Not quite your teenage mutant ninja turtle!

Anyway, back to the zoo. It was one of my favorite things in Australia. Steve Irwin is very much a part of the zoo even though he was killed by a stingray last year. There are pictures and displays of he and his family (and their adventures) throughout the zoo area.

We did some other things while in Brisbane (Surfer's Paradise, etc) but the zoo was the highlight of the stay. We were there only a few days before we headed on to our last stop ... CAIRNES!!

More to come ....