RIP Steve Irwin
Cat (my room mate) has always been a huge fan of Animal Planet. Some...gosh about 10 years ago, she dragged me over to the tv and had me watch the Croc Hunter show. I was very amused. Here was this very handsome guy acting as excited as a little child about animals. There was something very appealing about him, though it was easy to mock his over-the-top enthusiasm.
When I went to Australia in 2001 to meet Mark, we found ourselves driving through Queensland, on the way to visit his brother in Mackay. Cat asked us to stop at the Australia Zoo and pick up some sort of souvenir for her.
We waffled a bit, since it was some 60 mile detour and time was really tight. Finally, we decided to spend a morning there. When we arrived in the town, on a Saturday night, we were surprised at how small it was. We ended up in a motel (if it could be called that!) and headed out to the zoo early Sunday morning.
I remember that there was just brilliant sunlight and the weather was perfect! Almost as soon as we went through the gate, it became clear that this wasn't just a tourist trap. The staff was absolutely wonderful, answering questions and engaging us in dialogue.
I had been hoping to pet a kangaroo, and had been denied again and again. A week earlier, we had been at an outdoor nature park and a kangaroo mercilessly teased me. He'd let me get close (yep, they did allow you to pet the kangas) then playfully hop away.
A few days earlier, we'd gone to a Koala reserve, and I'd gotten to cuddle with a koala (which was just a wonderful experience) so kangas were the only animals I really wanted to pet, if possible.
We approached the kanga pens, and lo and behold, they allowed patrons to roam around the pens. We had a great chat with a staff member about albino kangas, and yes, I got to pet a few.
The zoo was laid out wonderfully, and we had an absolutely wonderful time there. The highlight of the day was seeing Steve's wife, Terri, feeding some wombats. Sadly, Steve wasn't out and about that day.
That day, I really became aware of Steve as more than an outrageous Tv personality. The love he had for animals was evident in every square inch of his home zoo.
Steve will definitely be missed. He packed a lot of living and passion into his 44 years on this earth. I hope his family continues his legacy.
Here are some links to some pix of our day at the Aussie Zoo
Front gate
Albino kanga
Mark petting a kanga
I finally get to pet a kanga
Feeding some dingoes
When I went to Australia in 2001 to meet Mark, we found ourselves driving through Queensland, on the way to visit his brother in Mackay. Cat asked us to stop at the Australia Zoo and pick up some sort of souvenir for her.
We waffled a bit, since it was some 60 mile detour and time was really tight. Finally, we decided to spend a morning there. When we arrived in the town, on a Saturday night, we were surprised at how small it was. We ended up in a motel (if it could be called that!) and headed out to the zoo early Sunday morning.
I remember that there was just brilliant sunlight and the weather was perfect! Almost as soon as we went through the gate, it became clear that this wasn't just a tourist trap. The staff was absolutely wonderful, answering questions and engaging us in dialogue.
I had been hoping to pet a kangaroo, and had been denied again and again. A week earlier, we had been at an outdoor nature park and a kangaroo mercilessly teased me. He'd let me get close (yep, they did allow you to pet the kangas) then playfully hop away.
A few days earlier, we'd gone to a Koala reserve, and I'd gotten to cuddle with a koala (which was just a wonderful experience) so kangas were the only animals I really wanted to pet, if possible.
We approached the kanga pens, and lo and behold, they allowed patrons to roam around the pens. We had a great chat with a staff member about albino kangas, and yes, I got to pet a few.
The zoo was laid out wonderfully, and we had an absolutely wonderful time there. The highlight of the day was seeing Steve's wife, Terri, feeding some wombats. Sadly, Steve wasn't out and about that day.
That day, I really became aware of Steve as more than an outrageous Tv personality. The love he had for animals was evident in every square inch of his home zoo.
Steve will definitely be missed. He packed a lot of living and passion into his 44 years on this earth. I hope his family continues his legacy.
Here are some links to some pix of our day at the Aussie Zoo
Front gate
Albino kanga
Mark petting a kanga
I finally get to pet a kanga
Feeding some dingoes
posted by Breezy at 4:39 AM
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