Steve Irwin

We have had a few days off-line (and laziness) and will catch-up on what we’ve been up to.

On 20/6 we went to Australia Zoo. This is a great place which Steve Irwin and his family have clearly set up in a fairly distinctive way. Aust Zoo is a big place which appears to have originally been his own place where he keeps his animals which he loves. He has had a philosophy that the animals needed to be interacted with and that is why he appears to most of us completely crazy when he jumps on them etc… His philosophy has continued to be passed on to the keepers of the animals who continue to care for these animals in a very “hands on” way. They interact with the crocodiles and use these skills in their show as they get the croc to behave in certain ways to demonstrate their awesome characteristics. They play with the tigers in similar ways to keep them “interested” and happy. They allowed all of us to feed the elephants (the only place in Australia where you can do that). If you pay more money, then you also can have these experiences with these animals (maybe not the crocs) and they really want us all to appreciate the animals and ensure we look after them and their habitat to ensure they do not get wiped out.

Steve has had a huge impact up here – they have changed the name of streets in the area of the zoo. It appeared to us that he was a man of great passion for his cause and was completely genuine in the manner he went about campaigning to preserve this world. He believed that is why he was put on the planet.

A great day was had by all and we slept well that night !!!