Good day Matey

This morning was day one of our tour. It was hot and overcast and rained on and off most of the day. It did not get in our way of a great day. We hopped on a nice, air conditioned coach bus and headed north to the Sunshine Coast where we went to the Australia Zoo.

Fun fact, the streets in town are named after British Royalty. North/South eastern streets named for Princesses and Queens and North/South western streets named for Princes and Kings.

Brisbane is known as the Sunshine City because they get 283 days of sunshine a year.

Another fun fact is that Burger King is known as Hungry Jacks. The story goes that Burger King wanted to come to Australia and there was already a small business named Burger King. They would not give up their name for this chain so using the same logo and everything, they called themselves Hungry Jack. Nothing is different but the name itself.

Steve and Terri Irwin made the Australia Zoo, what it is today. It is not only famous but also the biggest and best wildlife conservation facility in the world. The Zoo sits on over 700 acres and has over 1200 animals. It was opened by Steve Irwins’ parents in 1970 and taken over by Steve and Terri in the 90s.

The term “Crikey” is used to express surprise or annoyance and when we arrived at the zoo, we saw a huge picture of Steve Irwin with the word “Crikey” written over him. It was his signature word and, in fact, they named a reality t.v. show with his family: “Crikey! It’s the Irwin’s.”

We first went to see the Wildlife hospital which is on site, where injured animals are brought. They care for about 10,000 animals a year. They perform surgery, care for them in ICU and rehabilitate them so they can return to the wild. They are specifically known for their Sea Turtle and Koala rehabilitation centers.

John Oliver, the British comedian, donated a lot of money to the hospital and they named the ICU theater after him.

Many of the animals are wild and people just bring them in, if they find them, out of the goodness of their hearts for medical treatment, surgery or rehabilitation. If they bring one in, they get to name that wild animal as a reward.

We then hopped on a shuttle and started our trip in Africa and wound our way back to a Crocodile show. The animals here are in spacious areas with tons of room to run around, keep to themselves, if they want and they are surrounded by greenery and trees. The zoo care takers are very present and willing to answer any questions anytime.

We were able to walk through and pet various animals as well, including wallaby’s, koalas and kangaroos. They were fairly tame and did not seem to mind people encroaching on their space.

We finished the day at a Crocodile show. There were huge, old crocs in ponds and the caretakers were trying to get them to move around and come after the food they were teasing them with. The one we could see, was very very old (100 years old) if you believe them and he moved a little but not a lot.

The bus ride back (about an hour and a half) was quiet. We were tired, hot and damp from the rain but it was worth it. Such a great experience.

Our Roo Crew—Allison, Jeff, Lori, Mike, Larry and myself spent the rest of the evening together. We went to an underground pub for a beer and then dinner at an amazing Asian restaurant.

All of a sudden, it was 8:30 p.m. and we were ready for bed. OMG, we have come to that.

Tomorrow is the Botanical Gardens and I can’t wait to share that with you.

Cici at Sea falling asleep!!!