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Very shortly after our arrival in Australia, we were introduced to an icon in the Australian culture that seems to be a major source of pride to the Australians: the legendary Steve Irwin. Not many days after starting school, the boys were already talking about Steve as though they knew him in person. They knew all about Steve and his dangerous encounters with even more dangerous animals.
So who is Steve Irwin? Steve Irwin is the real life Crocodile Dundee, also called the Crocodile Hunter. He is a wildlife expert and conservationist, famous for his very close and risky encounters with wildlife that can be seen in numerouos dcoumentaries. Unfortunately, this passion also caused him to die at a very young age in 2006 (yes, we think 44 is young), as he was pierced in the chest while approaching a stingray.
Inevitably we had to get our share of the legend, so last week, we packed our backpack with great expectations and went to Australia Zoo that is still run by the Irwin family. The legendary status of Steve Irwin was felt right away as we were greeted by a large statue of the Steve Irwin family (wife and two young children) that could also be purchased at the souvenir shops in a 30x30x30 cm bronze copy (for as little as 100 AUD = 600 DKK).
Indeed it was a beautiful zoo featuring animals from all over the world, obviously with an emphasis on the Australian wildlife. There was a 'Roo Heaven' where we could walk among the kangaroos and even feed them, which was a big hit with Thomas and Daniel, along with Koala patting.
But when you go to the Crocodile Hunter's zoo, you obviously want to see the main feature, the Crocodile show, and we sat down feeling very excited. Thomas and Daniel had seen Steve fighting with Crocodiles in the documentaries, and in Thailand we had seen amazing crocodile shows, so our expectations were very high. But maybe too high. Just as we felt we were getting started, the show was over, and Daniels comment was: 'I think this was a waste of time' . I did not quite feel as strongly about it, I still enjoyed the impressive and hollow sound of a crocodile closing its mouth, but I also had to shake off my disappointment; what happened to the fighting with the crocodile? I guess there is noone like Steve.
The highlight of my day (apart from seeing my big boys feed the kangaroos and Jonathan touch his first alligator) came from a rather unexpected and not very Australian Tiger show. I have never seen anything like it. The people performing with the tigers were actually right there with them, with no protection from those great sharp teeth. They were cuddling the tiger and playing with it like a cat, only a rather big cat. They had it jump around right in front of our eyes, and into the water, flashing its beautiful colours and we even saw it jump. Now, that is what I call a show.
All in all a good day in the famous zoo, but most interesting of all to have tasted a little of the strong legend of Steve Irwin that the Australians are so proud of.
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