Drove back from Hervey Bay in the blazing heat today towards Brisbane for another night at Roger's. The scenery is lush and green on the way back and we need to remind ourselves that we're not seeing it as it normally is. On the way we called in at Australia Zoo (located on the Steve Irwin Highway) as advertised all around the place by the late Steve Erwin and his kids.
I don't really like zoos at the best of times, but Tom liked the idea of seeing the crocs so we called in. Not cheap (over 100 quid for the 4 of us) then when we're handed the map, we see it's not that big either. Just as well I suppose as it was already after lunch. It's hot and humid. I'm annoyed because of the cost vs the other things we've done so far. Then the real kicker. The whole place is basically a shrine to Steve Irwin and an outlet for his daughter's (Bindi) merchandise (50 dollars for a Childs polyester croc hunter shirt!). There are pictures and videos of them everywhere, family momentos (including things like one of Bindy's first dresses framed and stuck on the wall) and other general tat. Food and drink, like all these places is stupidly expensive. Then to cap it all, a tropical storm pins us down in one to the buildings.
There, whine over, here are some pics....... Ah. No pics. Well there are, but I put them on the Hyperdrive before my iPad and wiped the cards, so I can't post them without a real computer. Doh! Just have to wait until I get back.
I guess the best thing at the zoo was Cait's public humiliation at the animal show! I have it on video, but can't upload it with the iPad. The bird show chappie asked for 4 volunteers (note we're in a huge auditorium called the Crocoseum) Cait (in the spirit of 'in for a penny') naively volunteered. They were told that if the stood with their arms straight out at their sides whilst thrusting their hips and shouting "kakar! Kakar!" at the top of their voice 4 doves would land on their arms. Because Cait looked the most uncomfortable, she made the giant screen. It was all a trick and the doves flew off into the distance. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
----Cait edit------ In my defence, I thought some audience participation might be memorable for the kids. I got a free Bindi magazine for my troubles with a free pass to Australia zoo...shame it ran out July 2010! Rob is not a fan of zoos but as I kept reminding him, it's not all about him;) The kids had the opportunity to pat and feed a kangaroo and pat a Koala on the bum (VERY soft fur!) Sarah wouldnt go near the kangaroo and wanted to keep her distance. During the tropical storm, they played for ages in a mock up 4x4 crocodile hunter jeep, that was probably the highlight for them. We have come to the conclusion that our two aren't animal people. Tom is still talking about the shipwreck on Fraser. The weather didn't do us any favours. During the rain (and I mean RAIN) Tom threw his hat over the side. My highlight was going out to get said hat and almost tripping over a massive monitor lizard in the process. Second was realising that the huge sand coloured crocodile that I thought was a dummy, was actually real. Observation for the day, Crocs stay really still
------ back to Rob edit---------
....and therefore boring!
-----humm, to Cait edit again cos I'm being a grump--------
Bindi means 'little girl'. Sarah and Tom saw the 'Bindi' nature show once or twice on Oz telly and they were glued so she definitely has appeal for the younger audience. Poor child 'Bindi Sue' was named after a crocodile and the Irwins pet dog. The second Irwin child got off easy being called Robert.
During the rain, I had a look at the Steve Irwin museum. They had old TV Programmes showing Steve in action with crocs, his passion is obvious and I would have loved to have visited the the Australia zoo in the early days. This was in stark contrast to the 'Seaworld' type show we saw, but I enjoyed it all the same. The rain cleared a bit at 3.30 so we caught the Birds of Prey show. The South American Condor was very impressive. As soon as the show finished, the heavens opened again and we were trapped again. We eventually escaped about 5.
Rob managed to lose his second pair of sunglasses at the zoo, just as well they were cheap.
Back to Roger's in more rain to get some welcome hospitality, beer and washing done.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment