Australia Zoo

From the Gold Coast, I drove north around Brisbane and headed for the Glasshouse Mountains, with the aim of going to Australia Zoo - started by Steve Erwin.  As I was to find out, there was very little accommodation available due to several reasons.   Firstly, there was a darts tournament on in Caboulture, then there appeared to be a wedding (or 2?) on in the Glasshouse Mountain area, then I finally found out that Monday was also a "student free" day at the schools, so many people were treating it as a long weekend.   After about 100km of extra driving back and forth along Steve Erwin Way, I couldn't get anything.  I drove into Caloundra and the story was the same.   The last caravan park I tried had a couple of unpowered sites left, so I grabbed one of those.  It was at a place called Dickies Beach, was absoultely beautiful, and a swim at the end of the day was a great way to relax from all the driving.   

That night I read up on all the various offers and experiences available at Australia Zoo.  They ranged from Koala cuddling for $40 through to a Tiger experience for $450.  Add on top of that $50+ for photos, and I suspect they make a lot of their revenue from the "add ons".   

I wasn't going to partake in any of the animal experiences, but I had one of those "what the hell" moments when standing in line for entry and signed up for the Red Panda experience.    After getting inside, familiarising myself with the map, I made my way across for the Elephant feedings where you get to hand the Elephants bits of fruit.

I then made my way to the Red Panda enclosure to meet and feed them.  I'm gald I did !!!!  I got to meet two very handsome Red Pandas - Yoda and Pasang.   The night before they had eaten 1/2 a Water Dragon (lizard) so were a little hard to cox down from the trees, but they eventually made their way down.  There were only three of us for the feeding, so we all got some quality time with each of the Pandas.  They have massive paws, covered in thick fur - including the pads - as they come from the Himalayas.  They also have a "6th toe" to help them climb and hang on in the trees.

After the Red Panda feeding I made my way to the Crocaseum for the main show at midday.  It was hot, damn hot, and to get the best photos I needed to sit down near the front - in the sun.  I think I got a bit of heat stroke, but I did get some good shots.

 

Here's a LINK to a few more photos from Australia Zoo.