We hadn’t visited Australia Zoo before. It hadn’t really been on our list of things to do in Brisbane, as it’s quite a distance from the city, and our usual routine is a couple days in Brisbane to see family before heading north for some sun. This time care of a booking bungle we had a an extra day. I booked our trip to Brisbane while i was in the USA and forgot the international date line – rookie error! 

The zoo is about 80 kms from Brisbane and subject to traffic is about a 90 minute trip each way.

We booked a tour from Brisbane rather than hiring a car. It was an early start, a 7.45 pick up to get to the zoo early. Apparently the trick is to leave the zoo by 3pm to avoid the afternoon traffic. 

The bus trip was easy and entertaining with the bus  driver filling in the trip with points of interest and fun facts.

We arrived at Australia Zoo about 9.15 and had a quick stop at the Wildlife Hospital. It’s an impressive facility. While we were there, an owl was being treated. There is a formal tour which takes you through the whole facility, but we just had a quick visit. Later in the day as we discussed our day , one of the other bus passengers said they’d done it and it was excellent.

We were dropped at the zoo entrance about 9.45 and shown a map with a suggested route to avoid doubling back or walking in circles, which in this vast facility would be easy.  Thankfully, the zoo wasn’t too busy when we arelived and stayed that way for the day. With more than 700,000 (source: Wikipedia)  visitors annually, we picked a good day for a visit. Not crowded, and a warm sunny day.

The zoo is synonymous with Sreve Irwin and his famous saying, Crikey. Both are hard to avoid as you walk around the zoo. Steve who died in 2006 is talked about by staff. There is TV footage and photos of him everywhere, which was fine by us. He bought Australian wildlife to the forefront of our minds and his zoo remains focussed on its conservation efforts.

With our map in hand and a plan for the day we set off with our first stop patting a lizard, and a quick stop to see the American alligators. From there it was off to see Kangaroos. We could have fed them, but as we see them all the time we chose to pass on that option. Although they are commonplace on our drives to our beach house, they are fascinating creatures and so we spent a while in the enclosure with the highlight being a rock wallaby. The Brologas and other birds were amazing. Hard to do anything other than marvel at their long legs and beautiful colours.

From there it was past the koalas and onto the African area. We timed it quite by chance to see the Tiger show. Tigers are impressive animals and seeing the tiger dive into the water and swim was quite something, We went on to see elephants, lemurs, cheetahs, rhino, zebras and giraffe. Of course the meerkats were a highlight.  The rhinos were huddled in the shade and the zebra and giraffe were taking it easy in a large field. During our visit to this part of the zoo, one of the zoo staff was talking about the animals. The talk was interesting. It like all of the talks we heard referenced Steve Irwin and the need for conservation. We also saw a huge tortoise which prepared us for the tortoise experience we’d booked a little later in the day.

Shuttle buses take you from the African section to the entrance, which is a good way to avoid doubling back. From the entrance it was a short walk to the assembly point  for the Tortoise Experience. We had no idea what to expect when we booked, it was very much a spur of the moment decision.

About 10 of us were called together and ushered to the tortoise enclosure where a very large tortoise and his zoo staff friend greeted us. We were given some basic safety instructions which were pretty much, watch out, they are heavy, and they sit where they like, taking no notice should there be a stray human limb underneath. The experience included a talk about the tortoise, a big cuddle and photos with it. I’d never cuddled a tortoise before – it was fun.

After we said goodbye to the tortoise, we went back to the Crocusiam for the wildlife show, which was truly the highlight of the visit. It started with a warm introduction and birds in free flight, Surprisingly, the galahs were the highlight of this aspect of the show. The star of the show was the crocodile and his two handlers. Crocodiles are big with huge jaws and teeeth to match. We’d seen crocodiles before, but this was up close and personal – they are huge and scary. Seeing it jump out of the water to grab food was a reminder to stay safe. The advice to swim in a pool and not a river or beach up north made more sense when you see the size of their jaws.

The wildlife show takes about 45 minutes and provides a welcome chance to sit down before embarking on a further exploration of the zoo. We looked at more crocadiles and alligators, before visiting Robert’s Reptile House, seeing the dingoes and then heading for the exit. The reptile house was terrific, scary snakes behind glass and spitting frogs. I loved it.

Australia Zoo is a great place to spend a day. In fact it would be easy to spend more time there.

Travel tip – try and visit off season. We visited in Mid August. The weather was warm and it wasn’t too crowded.