The Australia Zoo: Home of the Crocodile Hunter himself (pt.1)

In the past 9 days, I engaged in a trip called One Fish Two Fish through the Extreme Adventures program.  'Extreme' doesn't even give justice to the craziness I experienced during this time.  The next few blog posts will help to describe some of the wild activities I participated in but I would like to start with the first day of the trip and one of the most amazing at that.

Day 1 dedicated the morning to a trip visiting the Australia Zoo.  This is the zoo created and sustained by the Irwin family. Yes, Steve Irwin and his family have created this zoo for pleasure and knowledge seekers with an interest in life of the wild.  As a child, I was convinced that I would marry Steve Irwin. Call me crazy, but he was the perfect person.  His television show was my favorite that consumed most of my childhood.  I was completely in love with his fearless excursions and only prayed to be like him when I got older.  Steve Irwin and his adventures were a core reason that, as a child, I set the goal to live the rest of my life in Australia.  When Terri came into the picture, I knew my chances of marrying him were slim to none seen as her thirst for adventure matched his.  Anyway, the fact that I was finally able to walk the grounds the Irwin family did made this day one of the best thus far on my entire trip.

There was not one section of the entire zoo where you couldn't find a memorial, picture or dedication to Steve Irwin himself.  Everywhere I looked I could find his inspiring face of enthusiasm.  Steve Irwin's death was a tragedy and huge loss for not only the Australian world of wildlife awareness but for the world as a whole.  

On September 4th of 2006, Steve was exploring and snorkeling in shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef. He was shooting a new documentary of some of the ocean's deadliest creatures.  Fitting his normal character, Steve pressed his luck with the creatures he was finding, trying to get ‘up close and personal’ in the process. A stingray said to be about 8 feet in diameter became defensive as Steve entered his personal space.  In little to no time, the stingray reacted and began to repeatedly strike Steve with his tail spine.  What he believed was a punctured lung soon turned into a pierced heart.  Although many efforts of CPR and wound compression were taken, it was at a loss.  Steve Irwin was known for his remarkable passion for knowledge and dedication to conserving the environment.  This zoo is an incredible chance for his legacy to live on forever.

The Australia Zoo: Home of the Crocodile Hunter himself (pt.2)

Only two hours to explore the zoo before our bus would leave us behind was not nearly enough time to fully experience this premises of wonder; I began to run.  Crinkled zoo map in one hand and camera in the other, my Hawaiian shirt tourism came over me in full bloom.  Should we go to see the echidnas? Or maybe skip straight to the Sumatran tiger? My friends and I were so overwhelmed that we didn’t know where exactly to begin. 

“Roo Heaven” just a short three minute walk away was our first settled destination.  Keeping a slow jog, we finally saw the banner high and mighty over a double gate.  After pushing through and entering the forested area, we were surprised to see not a single kangaroo in sight.  It wasn’t until we realized how vast the area was that we knew to walk all the way through to the center.  Once there, kangaroos were all over the place.  You would think that after three months time and many kangaroo encounters it would get old.  Well, you’d think wrong.  Every time I get to go up to a kangaroo and earn their trust to pet it feels like the first.  Along with this came kangaroo feeding and, of course, some kangaroo selfies. 

After a bit of time here, we made our way through the Tiger Temple and African Savannah Exhibit.  This is the only multi species animal exhibit found in Queensland where visitors can observe and learn from the natural interactions between many different species of animals as would be seen in the wild.  Steve Irwin had always wanted to create a place in his zoo where the public could learn the true dynamics of animals when they are given the same biological environment as their original remote and natural habitats.  The day only got better as we next went to the interaction area and were able to hold a koala.  It almost seems necessary that, while traveling to Australia, one must visit a zoo, wait in line, and take a photograph with a koala.  As touristic and not-so-worth-it as it may seem, it was entertaining.  Although it was only for a short amount of time, most people would never have the opportunity to hold a koala unless in a zoo or conservation environment due to their aggressive and temperamental behavior.  It is difficult to imagine such cute and cuddly looking animals to have such an anger streak but it is not worth finding out on your own. 

By this time, my group only had half an hour before we were to meet and depart.  This left us some time to sit and watch the native bird and crocodile so that was just about to begin.  We sat on the boiling plastic bleachers in direct line of the shooting sun since all of the other shady spots were filled.  Nonetheless, we mentally prepared for the sunburns to come as three enthusiastically active zoologists greeted us.  As entertaining as they were teaching the audience about the different native birds, hawks and vultures of the area, it was the family that followed after that left me in tears.  I knew that the Irwin family had great influence over this zoo but was unsure of their involvement. 

To my astonishment, Terri, Bindi and Robert appeared from the gated area underneath the stadium seats to implement their presentation on crocodiles!  Terri, as welcoming as ever, still looked the same as she had when I first saw her in Steve’s television shows, but Bindi was now 15 years old and Robert now 10 years old.  As they took the spotlight, I could not stop seeing the amazing influence of their father on their looks, speech and mannerisms.  Throughout this show, I had been wiping the sticky sweat from my forehead and sides of my face.  Now I touched the areas under my eyes and next to my nose as to wipe the salty tears rather than sweat.  Why was I crying? How come the tears wouldn’t stop rushing down the curves of my face?  I realized the amazing influence Steve Irwin had over the education through a world other than textbooks and essays but rather experience.  The way his legacy will live on is through his children and many Irwin generations to come.  I was left with a feeling of insignificance that I have not done enough for our world but also inspiration to begin leading a more meaningful life of awareness.  The way Steve’s passion has spread across the world like Vegemite on toast is remarkable and gives a sense of hope for a thriving environment of tomorrow.

A Dying Legacy

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most famous destinations to travel to when visiting Queensland.  Not only are there an abundance of places to see while traveling the reef but also activities to engage in.  The beauties above ground are soft on the eyes but cannot compare to the magic that lies below the water's surface.  Going to visit the reef is something I have looked forward to for my entire trip thus far.  I did a bit of research on the reef beforehand and thought I should share it to give some background.  Although we think of the Great Barrier Reef as one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we overlook the history and many dangers it is currently encountering.  It is easy to be fascinated by the creatures it holds but also have to wonder how many species we have already lost due to human neglect and destruction.

The Great Barrier Reef, located off of the northeast coast on Queensland, Australia, was created a few million years ago due to tectonic shifts.  These created a continental shelf which now serves as the foundation for 3,000 individual reefs and 600 types of coral. First to sail the length of the Great Barrier Reef in 1770, James Cook mapped and explored the waters.  Similarly, Flinders explored and coined the reef as a “barrier” in 1801 due to its obstacle-like nature. 

          It wasn’t until the 1890s where early tourism, then ironically considered ‘eco-tourism’, became popular with pleasure cruises.  The 1960’s advertisements portrayed the reef as an exotic paradise. Other than leisure, the reef was also used for agricultural purposes.  After WWII, soldiers were encouraged to buy lands in N. Australia and participate in the sugar cane industry.  The idea of oil drilling also became popular but was banned by the government after seeing the travesties of the Santa Barbara oil spill. However, the present day mining boom serves as the most current threat to the area.

            Australia exports 80% of its coal.  There are about 12 ports located around the reef itself.  Dredging is used for ports and expansion, which allows for large ships to navigate through.  This is the process of digging up the seabed and dumping it in a new area to increase the water depth.  This dredging has infected many fish species, especially in the Gladstone area, making the fish inedible.  As Australia is the 16^th largest carbon dioxide emitting country in the world, coal burning causes severe threats.  Coral bleaching is a result of increases in sea temperature due to coal burning stations and emissions.   Even a future 4C temperature increase will potentially destroy the corals and result in a reef of bacteria and slime.  This diagram helps to show the impacts of this choral bleaching to the healthy corals of the area.

Through further researching, I was able to find an abundance of organizations created in hopes to preserve this legacy.  On my travels through the reef, I plan to keep an eye out for signs of these efforts.  Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling the world of tourism has too strong of an impact on the reef and the profits of the area overshadow the efforts to decrease human contact and impact.

(Much of this information can be found through this extremely informative and detailed site: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2014/mar/great-barrier-reef-obituary) 

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, between life and death

Slowly making my way up the last incline of the mountain, I could not stop shaking.  From my knees buckling to my hands fluttering there was no controlling my imbalance. I couldn’t tell what exactly it was from; whether it be my nerves, excitement or flat out dehydration, my body could not stay still.  This was making me nervous as I neared the edge of the mountain knowing I was hundreds of feet above sea level.  Slowing down my pace just made balancing even more difficult.  As I was a few feet from the edge, I decided to crawl closer trying to ensure greater stability.  As I look over to the right, my friend Martin was dangling his feet over the edge of the mountain.  For the entire trip thus far, he had been jumping and climbing the rock structures.  It came easily for him because of his rock-climbing background experience but to sit so close to the edge made me extremely anxious. 

            I finally got to the edge of the mountain and sat up.  To believe I climbed up so high and long to get to this point was unfathomable.  To my left and right, there were other mountain edges sticking out from the foundation we climbed.  There was also a location called the Pinnacle, which was more narrow of a rock to climb up to overlook the valley but had a railing to hold onto.  For me, it was completely lacking any sort of boundary.  Looking out, I could see the area of Halls Gap.  There were rolling hills with trees and colors everywhere.  These colors were a change from most I have seen thus far.  With most grass turned to straw and rock of terra cotta, the rolling greens of emerald were refreshing.

          Taking a minute to sit and breathe, what seemed so scary was not as scary anymore.  The breathtaking view and shot of adrenaline had mixed together to leave me with a sense of sweet serenity.