Australian Zoo

Smith in Oz graphic

“Indecency, vulgarity, obscenity – – these are strictly confined to man; he invented them. Among the higher animals there is no trace of them. They hide nothing. They are not ashamed”

– Mark Twain

Yep, this is the home of Steve Irwin (TV’s crocodile hunter).  I was naïve enough to believe he would personally be conducting the croc feeding demonstration that day.  Although he didn’t, it still was incredibly entertaining nonetheless.  They were feeding a large male croc that day named Agro.  For those of you who think crocs are slow moving creatures, Guess Again!  I have never seen anything move so fast as Agro did. Sweeping out of the water and chopping down on the chicken part the croc handler was holding over the water. WOW!  Although  not as nice as the Billabong Sanctuary, this was due to the fact that  there was too much fencing around the crocs.  It was nearly impossible to get a good picture.  In some cases the view was so obstructed by the fencing that you could not even see the crocs. The bird in pic  followed me and pecked at my toes until I had to run to lose him,  nasty little bugger! After having a few nasty snake experiences in Oz so far, I was very happy to see the Coastal Taipan behind glass.  A fitting place for the most poisonous snake in  the world. I was surprised how small Albert, the American Alligator was compared to the Aussie crocs I had seen so far.  So different in appearance as well.

I left Australian Zoo with a bag full of souvenirs for friends and family back home.  My 6 year old nephew is a big fan of Steve Irwin and he went bananas when he received his “Australian Zoo Croc Hunter” baseball hat. A fridge magnet < see second last row> for the misses was also purchased. The kangaroo were really docile that day. However, not as docile as the hundreds of dead ones I had seen on the roads up to this point of the trip.  The one in the picture in is very much alive I assure you. He is only sleeping.