Noosa and The Steve Irwin Zoo!!!!!

---

I was leaving Cairns after 12 days and supposed to be heading to Brisbane but the night before i left it proved difficult to get accomodation so i had a thought-why not just go straight to Noosa then come back to Brisbane as i was planning on going there but just later on in the week-Bingo! So after checking out of my hostel in Cairns and chilling out with Vicki for the day (my friend from Melbourne) i headed to the airport where i stayed the night. It actually wasnt too bad, in the airport they had comfy seats so i got a few hours sleep before checking in at 4.30am. If i wasnt fully awake once in the departure lounge i was then-what happened was as i was texting my sister Julie i was looking in my new bag for something when a cockroach came scurrying accross my hand-oh my god! freak out i did! Up i jumped, it was a large carry bag so i didnt want to stick my hand in incase it came running up me so instead i called Juls! What she was meant to do i dont know but as she laughed her head off i was still panicking, jumping up and down and freaking out! After she calmed herself down as she was in hysterics (a good help eh!!haha) and then me i came off the phone to go in search of the eeky insect! Luckily as i poked around a woman came over as she had seen me jumping about and realised something must have been wrong-my hero! She emptied out my bag for me then took the disgusting little creature away from me, i then could let my stressed shoulders down and call back Juls to let her know all was ok! Phew! At 5.50am my flight was called and we all boarded the plane, i had became quite a worrier when on flights as my last few had been rather bumpy but as we took off i was feeling alright. But, as the turbulance hit so did my fear, i felt stupid crossing my fingers and saying little words like 'its going to be ok, its just turbulance' etc to myself but it did help and soon it stopped and i felt much better. The flight went well, i just listened to my ipod and let myself go in to a little dream world until we got closer to Brisbane and the turbulance started again, it would soon be over though i kept thinking. As we got closer and closer to landing i was feeling better but, as the rest of the passengers said later on, the pilot obviously didnt realise we were so close and boom-down we went, it was horrible! Some people said it was a kangaroo landing because bump bump bump we went, the ground was obviously closer than the pilot realised! The air steward apologised and said 'well if you werent awake a minute ago you certainly are now!' haha!!!

Once i had collected my luggage i went in search of the Greyhound bus terminal as thats who i had booked my bus to Noosa with, at 9am they picked me up and 3 hours of sleep later we arrived! I headed on the shuttle bus to my hostel called 'Koalas' which was really nice and beds were comfortable! I met some really nice girls in my room who were a good laugh and i liked. That day (Wednesday) i booked my day trip to The Australia Zoo for Friday and also my bus back to Brisbane for a week later, i done some food shopping and chilled out. The following day i went to the beach with a girl called Sarah from England who was lovely. The sun shone all day and we had a nice relaxed time, that night i went on net and had some dinner before chilling out in tv lounge! perfect!

The following morning i was up bright, early and very excited! i hadnt even be able to sleep much the previous night due to being so excited-the day had finally come when i would be going to 'Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter', the legendary Steve Irwin!!!!! This had been in my plans since i booked or even thought about going to Australia, i loved Steve Irwin and so couldnt wait to visit his home and what he had worked for all his life-his zoo filled with amazing animals, some of which he had caught and helped! Crikey i thought im going today!!!!! So after packing my lunch and getting organised off i went to get the bus which picked us up at 8.30am, once on the huge double decker we all watched a video about Steve's life and how he became The Crocdile Hunter, awesome! Once at the zoo which was about a 70 minute ride away from Noosa i headed straight in and what a day i had! I wont bore you with all the tiny details that i would love to do but ill tell you this-the zoo is amazing! I seen all sorts of animals, koala's, kangaroo's, lizards, otters, elephants, snakes , many more and of course the crocodiles! As i wandered around the huge zoo i was amazed at all the helpful staff, the very organised set up and all animals! Throughout the day you watched some of the staff wandering around taking some of the animals for a walk-it was so funny! There were wombats, cheetah's, and all sorts on leads-hilarious! There was also lizards and gecko's just walking about the zoo, it was so cool!!! A couple of the best things i done whilst there though was feed a elephant, which was so cool although their slevers all over your hand afterwards wasnt haha, i also held a koala which was amzing, they are so cute, cuddly, warm, super soft but surprisingly heavy! i just wanted to cuddle it all day and it really grips on to you so you feel all warm inside, aw!!! But the biggest and coolest thing i done was hold a huge snake which was super heavy! It felt weird, all leathery outide and once you hold it you feel all its insides moving, sounds eeky but it was pretty cool! The weight of it surprised me though, although huge i didnt expect it to weigh so much, it was really sore on my neck yet i only had it wrapped around me for 5 minutes!!!! Awesome!!! Crikey i thought, i came to see the animals yet most i have either fed or held, this is definately the best zoo ever!!!!!! The only thing that let the zoo down i think would be the 'Crocodylus show' which was what i had seen on tv before Steve irwin had died and it looked awesome, and dont get me wrong it was really great but just too hyped up now, it was a show made for kids. Although we seen loads of animals and then a huge croc coming out and trying to chase and eat one of the croc experts i just wasnt over impressed, a shame though because everything else was beyond my expectations! You learn loads at the zoo about all the different animals as there is always shows on with them so their keeper can tell you all about how they live and why they are like they are etc-really interesting and i now know loads about animals!!!! Unfortunately for me though the day had to end and after seeing all the zoo and reading about Steve and also seeing his extremely sad memorial gate i had to hop back on the bus at 4pm to be taken back to Noosa. I obviously had had a very big day because as soon as i was on that bus i fell asleep even though they were playing another awesome video about Steve, and i didnt wake up again until we were 10 minutes away from my stop. A little girl and boy who were seated beside me looked at me and laughed then said 'you fell asleep' and giggled, glad to see i entertained the kids haha!!! As i got back to Noosa and headed to my hostel i thought about my day, crikey it was awesome!!! Steve Irwin definately was a legend and i just hope Terri, Bindi and Bobby keep the zoo going for years to come as Steve would have. Although with all the improvements they are doing and expansions (they are building a 500 acre animal hospital and adding to the zoo) i definately dont see it disappearing any time soon-woohoo!!!!!

The rest of my time in Noosa has been really chilled out and i have really enjoyed it. I have met some cool people although i have also met some really annoying voiced people who for some reason always seem to end up in my room, Canadians this time though haha! (why do they over react to everything and constantly say 'oh my gosh', or 'oh my god'?!?! I have beached it most days although yesterday and today has been extremely cloudy and its meant to rain today so i have just spent my time reading and chilling out at the hostel but thats been cool too! Noosa definately is a awesome place and id definately recommend it to anyone who plans to head over this way to Australia! (Tracy, get it noted!!!!)

Well folks as my time here ends i am sad to be leaving but also excited to be heading to Brisbane where i will be for 3 days before heading to Sydney again, my last stop in Australia!!!! Can you believe it?!?!?!?! I know i can't!! Hope you enjoyed reading about my time here and the zoo, theres really only one thing left to say-CRIKEY!!!!!

---