Today we visited one of the main sites that inspired Bret to want to come to Australia ⎯ The Crocodile Hunter’s Australia Zoo. 
Australia Zoo I’ve toured a number of zoos in the past year (Seattle, Phoenix, and San Antonio) so I have some recent points of reference to rank the quality of this zoo. All in all, the Australia Zoo is very well done. Most of the animals are displayed in their natural habitat, but you can get close enough to almost touch them (in fact some, like the koala, you can even touch ⎯ their fur feels like…well, fur; their meat taste like chicken⎯yes, there’s no better way to top off a day at the Australia Zoo then by feasting on a Kaola-Kabob at the zoo’s food court).
Australian Bengal Tiger Here is an example of how close the animal action is. I took this photo of the native Australian tiger readying to pounce on its prey.
Australian Bengal Tiger Here is the same tiger successfully mauling its defenseless catch. Crikey, you can’t get any more realistic than that.
Here Bret risked his life to get this shot of the world’s most venomous snake, the taipan.
Taipan
Dingos And while Australia’s native dog, the dingo, looks cute and cuddly, they are actually ferocious hunters. This dingo grabbed the rat from the zookeeper’s hand in the next photo before the saltwater crocodile even knew what happened. 
Saltwater Crocodile
We changed our base camp this evening to the Sherton Noosa Resort on the South Pacific Ocean. 
Australia ZooThe resort was kind enough to upgrade us to a pool-side two-story, two-bath suite. Not bad for free. I have only two complaints about the hotel. They have no broadband connection so I have no idea how I will upload this post, and they charge outrageous prices for breakfast. They want $35 dollars for bacon and eggs and $25 for cocoa puffs. Fortunately, I noticed this small resort town has its own food court. We will be breakfasting there.
On the cultural front, apparently Australian waiters/waitresses while providing excellent tableside service, do not deliver meal checks to the table nor handle payment of any type. I first noticed this the other day in Brisbane. When the waitress came to clear the table, I asked for the check. I was still sitting there without the bill 5 minutes later while the waitress chatted with her colleague at the counter. I couldn’t think of any other English or Australian words for check so I went up and asked if I could pay. I then paid at the counter. Later, I believe I heard the waitress apologize to her boss, presumably after being told how stupid Americans expect the restaurant staff to shamefully acknowledge they are serving food for money by requiring them to bring the check tableside, rather than respecting the Australian custom of allowing servers to maintain their dignity through the separation of the meal presentation from the unpleasantness of making payment.
The other big cultural news story is the head of staff at the Australian Parliament sent out a written directive to Parliament’s support staff that they can no longer use the term “Mate” when addressing members of Parliament. This has caused quite an uproar.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This is interesting reading and great pictures.
Be careful and don’t get bit by anything.
I noticed that you spoke of eating “Koala-Kabobs” at the Australia Zoo food court. Knowing Steve Irwin’s passionate aversion to the consumption of wildlife, I cannot, in any way, believe that he would allow koala meat to be served anywhere near his zoo. I was wondering if maybe you had a memory lapse with this entry and actually ate the “Koala Kabobs” at a different location?
Tracey, I was just kidding. I couldn’t imagine eating koala. I don’t even recall seeing it on the menu anywhere in Australia. I did see kangaroo steaks at a number of restaurants, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating that either.