I know you all have been waiting patiently for the last installment of our Australian road trip. My apologies for the delay. We've had a cold moving through the house that got stuck in my lungs for awhile. :( But we're on the mend now and ready to share the finale of our Australian adventure!
I last left you in Coffs Harbour, a town about halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on Australia's East Coast. From there, we drove to Byron Bay, a beach town made famous by its famous residents, actor Chris Hemsworth and family.
Byron Bay has a really cool, sort of posh surfer vibe. The downtown area is filled with restaurants and bars, boutique shops and an Aldi supermarket (!!), which thrilled us. We happened to be visiting about the same time as Matt Damon and family. They apparently vacation with the Hemsworths on the reg and, rumor has it, Jason Bourne has been looking for a new pad Down Under. We didn't run into him or Chris...or anyone else remotely famous, but we did enjoy exploring this A-list getaway.
Our favorite stop in Byron Bay was the lighthouse, an iconic, picturesque 19th-century tower that guided ships around the easternmost point of Australia. It's a bit of a tourist trap, but an incredibly scenic one -- and we thoroughly enjoyed hiking around the grounds. (Ok, the boy thoroughly did NOT, but the rest of us did :)
From here, we drove a few hours to Brisbane, the third-largest city in Australia and the biggest city in the state of Queensland. Brisbane turned out to be quite nice though obviously smaller and less "busy" than Sydney. We spent the day checking out the commercial district, buying souvenirs and eating pancakes in a converted cathedral that had a bit of Renaissance flair going on. We also explored the Roma Street Parkland, a huge public park with beautiful gardens, fountains and playgrounds, right across from our hotel.
Brisbane put us just one hour away from the No. 1 spot we wanted to see in Australia: Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. We got up early the next morning to do the drive to Irwin's hometown of Beerwah and see if the zoo was worth our never-ending Australian road trip. Spoiler alert: It absolutely was -- and then some! The day turned out to be one of our family's favorites, like, of all time. Shane now ranks it his best day ever -- move over the births of the Adorables and our blessed wedding day ;)
Shane and I were both huge fans of Steve Irwin when the late, great Croc Hunter was alive. And we both still get a little sad every time we think of his passing, as I think many Australians and Americans do. What Steve had that captivated the world was a passion for wildlife and this infectious, borderline-crazy energy to enjoy, learn about and ultimately protect these creatures.
The Australian Zoo is true to Steve's character in every way. It's a little bit wild, just like Steve. It's a lot of fun and a little quirky. Several areas of the zoo allow visitors to get up close and personal with the animals. Kangaroo Heaven, for instance, is this huge outdoor enclosure with kangaroos hopping around in the open. Visitors can feed them, pet them, hang out with them, with no barriers in between.
Our family spent a lot of time in this area and LOVED being able to interact with these incredible creatures. We even saw a little Roo poke his head out of mama's pouch, which was amazing.
While other animals, such as the koalas, were kept in more traditional habitats, the zoo staff often brought animals outside the enclosures to let visitors take a closer look and teach them about how the animals live. We saw some neat birds and lizards up close this way. We also had the chance to take a family portrait with a koala. I'll repeat that -- family portrait...with a koala!
Shane actually held the little guy while we smiled for the picture. I felt giddy-excited for the rest of the afternoon, and Shane looked as happy as I've ever seen him. It was a pretty special moment for our family -- and our portrait now has a place of pride on our living room mantle. (Moses, our dog, doesn't see what the big deal is and wants to know why he doesn't get to be in the picture ;)
Once a day, the zoo puts on a stage show that's part tribute to Steve, part education about the animals and conservation efforts. Tropical birds fly through the stadium and above the audience. Crocodiles get just a little too close for comfort to the show's hosts. We all enjoyed the presentation, with Shane even shedding a few tears behind his sunglasses as footage of Mr. Irwin played on the big screen.
After the show, we spent the afternoon wow-ing over everything from giraffes and tigers to pythons and Tasmanian Devils. And, of course, crocodiles. Big, old, fat, mean-looking crocs, including, Elvis, the one who famously attacks lawnmowers. (YouTube it :). By the end of the day, we were worn out and happy as could be, especially Shane. He stayed on Cloud 9 for the rest of the night. The zoo was definitely the highlight of our Australian road trip. I'd recommend anyone heading Down Under find a way to spend a day here.
And I'll also defend myself preemptively against folks who will look at these pictures with a little (or a lot) of judgement. I know some people don't believe in zoos and exhibits that put wildlife on display. I know about the documentaries, the arguments against -- and I understand why some people have strong feelings about humans interacting with wild animals.
But I also agree with one of Steve Irwin's principal beliefs, that people save what they love. Steve once said, "“If we can get people excited about animals, then by crikey, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to save them.” The Croc Hunter's excitement for wildlife is still palpable, even though he's been gone from this world for 12 years now. His legacy includes the zoo but also thousands and thousands of acres of land dedicated to animal refuge, millions of dollars put toward animal conservation. The zoo puts a public face on the work his family continues to do behind the scenes to protect the wildlife Steve loved -- and it gets regular people excited to play a role.
Our family's understanding of and love for Australia's wildlife grew ten-fold from this and the other animal encounters we had on our trip. Kangaroos and koalas are no longer something we read about in books but real living, breathing creatures that are gentle and beautiful, unique and special and worthy of our protection.
I know Shane would go to bat for a koala or kangaroo any day now. And, by crikey, I think that's what Steve was after!
