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Howdee folks here we are again with another long (!) awaited installement. So we left Fraser Island feeling completely and utterly knackered and went to bed that night at like 7pm or something ridiculous... 'good times' really do take it outta you!
Next day it was off to Noosa which is a lovely town a bit further down the coast. It is like proper holiday territory but in a totally nice way, for rich Aussie's rather than scumsville backpackers like ourselves. This became particularly apparent when we headed down the main street, browsed the restuarant menu prices and then proceeded to just stand and watch through the window while people tucked into lobster and steak (think of it somewhat like a Dickens novel if you will). Anyway, this did not take away from our enjoyment of the place and after a bit of shopping and credit card bashing we felt a little more like we belonged - yay. The beach was also lovely (and free) so we pretty much just chilled there for most the time we were there.
The main reason for coming to Noosa however was to go to one of the most famous places in Oz - Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo! It is only a short trip from Noosa and as there was a free bus there (eased the pain of the credit card situation slightly) we were all set (little did we know that when you get there it costs nearly 50 bucks to get in but hey...) The Zoo really is a like a massive tribute to the man himself and from the moment we arrived we were greeted with huge pictures of 'The Crocodile Hunter' and his family. Now as you may know, we are pretty much zoo mongers these days, having visited pretty much every wildlife place we have seen but Australia Zoo is supposedly the ultimate over here. The first thing we saw were the crocs which is what the place is famous for and there were some massive beasts there. We had already watched some footage of how Steve Irwin caught all the ones that are there so it was bizarre to see them there in front of you. The main place in the zoo is The Crocaseum, a huge stadium type thing where Graham the croc was bought out to show the audience how he likes to eat meat - ooohh!! It was pretty cool to see the relationship the keepers (who were all selected by Stevo) have with the crocs and they know them so well that they can sit right in front of the crocs without them attacking. After The Crocoseum we wandered around the areas surrounding it which were all full of tributes to Stevo, all pretty moving stuff.
The kangaroos were next, they live in a big park area where they just roam around freely and you are able to pat and feed them etc. There were lots of koalas too, although don't have much photo evidence as Grant pretty much banned me from taking any more koala pics (although I did sneak a few in as one was sitting in such a cool pose I couldn't resist... hope he's put that one on, it's a classic!) The wombat were pretty special too and I was practically giddy when I saw one keeper taking one out for a walk on a lead - eeee!!
All in all although Australia Zoo was cool we did kind of feel that because we have now seen so many of these animals in the wild, seeing them in captivity (even though it is a conservation centre) is now just not as exhilerating. This is totally not meant in a snobby 'been there, seen it' way but we did just both feel that we have been so lucky with some of the things we have seen on our trip, in both Asia and Oz, that we are maybe just zooed out! However, having said that I'm so glad we did see it to understand how the place came about through the Irwin family and their relationship with it... 'The Crocodile Hunter' DVD box set is def on the Christmas list!
Linz x
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