Memories of Steve Irwin

Saturday 25 November

Another early morning on the move – another ferry to catch – we are becoming used to this pattern as we leave an island for the third time this week. By the time we boarded the ferry, the sun was up, promising another hot day. In Queensland, they do not have Daylight Saving Time (the equivalent of our British Summer Time) – the only state in Australia not to change their clocks to get lighter summer evenings, so the day starts. around dawn at 04.00, but is dark in the evening by 18.00. Although it is light by 04.00 the actual sunrise isn’t till around 05.30 and even then it seems to take quite a long time to come up far above the horizon – a bit like the Southern Cross at night cannot be seen in the night sky here until around 23.00, when it rises from the east – very strange.

The crossing today was very flat, the sea seeming like a mirror, reflecting the high white clouds floating overhead. The smoke we saw on the way over was now just a few thin wispy spires rising from the trees – presumably the burn was over. At Hervey Bay, all the luggage was checked – why it is not checked back the resort, when any problems can be sorted, I am not sure – but it was all present, and soon loaded on to the coach. It wasn’t long before we were speeding south along the motorway towards city life once more. Towns and villages were closer together and the traffic was building, as we made our way towards Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo on the outskirts of Brisbane. The countryside became rolling green hills, with some temperate woodland, and the grass looked lusher than any we have seen in this country so far – the drought has meant that the grass has been poor and scrubby or even non existent since we left Sydney four weeks ago. We watched a Steve Irwin video on the way, to get us into “Crickey” mode.

We were timed to arrive at the Zoo before midday so that we could see the crocodile feeding show, and we only just made it. The people were very welcoming, and we boarded one of the shuttle trains to take us to the crocoseum, a specially designed show centre for crocodiles. There had been displays of snakes, birds and reptiles in the arena before the crocodile show, but we were just in time to see, Murray, a large estuarine beast, being encouraged to swim through the channels, and into the pool as he was tempted with raw meat. These reptiles react to the vibrations of the keepers’ feet, walking along the edge of the pool brandishing long strips of raw meat. Crocodiles swim underwater without making any ripples on the surface, and when they sight their prey, they lunge upwards, if close enough, with just their head, and jaws wide open, snapping at the food, or they can stand on their enormously strong tails to reach their objective. When they sun themselves on the banks (or in this case, at the side of the pool) they lay with their mouths wide open, (not to catch insects) - apparently this keeps them cool. It was only a short display, but demonstrated the power of the reptile’s jaws. Everywhere we could see pictures and recordings of Steve Irwin, and “Crickey” and the Zoo is obviously making every attempt to carry on his love of reptiles and other wild animals as he would have wanted.

Our next stop in the Zoo was at the Tiger Temple, where we waited twenty precious minutes to see three tigers – Siberian and Bengal - fed milk from cartons, close to the windows of the large enclosure. They have five tigers at present, but space to hold sixteen which they hope to fill with their breeding programme. We had to be ready to leave by 14.00 and this did not give us any time to see much more of the Zoo, which was a great pity. It has been thoughtfully set out in gardens, with lots of signs and many of the enclosures are ‘open’ for you to wander around as well as there being lots of timed displays. We particularly would have liked to see the snakes and the otters, but ran out of time. We did meet a keeper carrying a blue tongued lizard which we petted – the skin felt just like a handbag! There were, of course, lots of people there – it was a Saturday – but it was by no means full, and we were able to roam and find our way around easily. If we are ever this way again, I am sure we could happily spend a day here with the animals.

We were then on our way to Surfers Paradise, the ‘playboy’ resort on the Gold Coast, with its high rise hotels, casinos and surfers beach. Not all our fellow travelers were pleased to leave the Zoo so early, to get to a destination that has been in the news all week, with thousands of school leavers from Queensland and New South Wales descending on the area for one big party lasting a week or more (known as Schoolies Week). It happens every year. We had heard several reports about injuries and riotous behaviour, and when we arrived at the hotel, the manager welcomed us by telling us to beware of gangs of young people currently marauding the city! We were staying at the newly refurbished Holiday Inn, and our room on the 12th floor overlooked the main street, although we could see the sea and surf close by between the hotels. The room was probably we have had on this tour so far, large, newly decorated in white and grayish green paint, with all modern facilities. There was a window in the bathroom opposite the loo, overlooking the bedroom, which seemed strange, but they had provided a venetian blind for a bit of privacy!. Soon after we settled in we heard lots of processional drumming and wondered what sort of evening we were in for. When we ventured out around the town later, and found the Irish bar for a couple of drinks, the ‘drummers’ came past with a pretty girl clad in a sequined sparkly bikini and feather headdress, seeming to enjoy their celebrations. We decided to eat Indian and the restaurant across the road from the hotel – we hadn’t eaten curry since Adolf’s on Koh Samui so it really was a change – we couldn’t face another hotel buffet. Although not up to Adolf’s standards, it was very tasty – we had asked for medium, but to us it was very mild, although we had chosen dishes with a good range of flavours. The cost was slightly cheaper than we would expect to pay at home.

When we went back to the hotel, we encountered several more groups of young people all conga-ing and chanting merrily on their way round town, and did not see any bad behaviour at all – although it was only around 21.00. The boys were still pushing supermarket trolleys with packs of beer, so it might be a bit more lively later. Opposite the hotel there was a bungy jump in reverse – people are strapped in a chair, which is then stretched downwards on the elastic, so that when it is released it pings you up in the air, usually spinning all the time! I watched for some time, but didn’t see anyone brave enough to have a go – and it certainly was not for us. As we were feeling fairly tired tonight, we decided on an early night.

Surfers Paradise was originally an almost unreachable beach, used only by the sugar cane workers, who were able to ford creeks and rivers in their beat-up farm vehicles, to reach the 50 kms stretch of gleaming white sand and good surfing rollers coming in from the ocean. It wasn’t until 1923 that the first hotel was built, and in 1925 a bridge was erected over the biggest river in the area – the Nerang River. In World War II soldiers from the US and Australian armies recuperated in this area, and many of the Australians returned with families in later years. In the 1950’s a group of entrepreneurs (including Keith Williams of Hamilton Island fame), got together to develop the area, but realized they needed a promotional expert to advertise the venture to make it a success. A cycle manufacturer from Melbourne got the job and he was immediately elected as the Mayor. His idea was to clad beautiful young women in gold bikinis to wander the beach area, hopefully gaining publicity for the resort. It worked, and the area became internationally famous overnight in 1956. It continued to grow throughout the sixties and seventies, but in the early eighties with the world recession, the area began to collapse, businesses closing at a rate of at least fifteen a week. People moved out, and the tourist industry declined. But in 1989 there was a really good summer, and tourists visited the area again, and it started to redevelop. It now covers and area of 1,100 sq kms or 450 sq miles, with a population of around 350,000, and still growing. It is a very popular haven for people from both Brisbane and Sydney to take a relaxing break.

There are several ideas as to how the area got its name – Gold Coast - the golden sands which are really white not golden – or the golden success of the investors – or more likely, from the golden bikini-clad girls. This town is a typical resort area, with lots of high rise hotels and places to eat. I am sure if it we visited at another time, avoiding the Schoolies Week, it would be a good place to spend a few days. I didn’t get to sample the swimming pools in the hotel – there were three plus a Jacuzzi - or to venture into the waves on the beach, which looked great fun.