Sunday 18 July
7.00am Depart Maccas Ruthven Street
7.30am Pitstop and pick up Maccas Gatton
Travel via Esk and Kilcoy to Beerwah (pitstops or fuel stops at these if anyone needs them).
Arrive Australia Zoo when we get there.

If anyone would like to join in elsewhere, just let me know.

Entry fees
Adult $57
Pensioner/Student $46
Children $34

More info on-line and you can prepay for your tickets if you want at www.australiazoo.com.au/

Just a reminder that the Aussie Zoo Cruise is this weekend. Discounted tickets are available for seniors and RACQ members. RACQ members can buy theirs on-line through the RACQ website.

Attendees so far:
Aussiecruza x 1
Blue Diamond x 1
Jelly Bean x 2
Wild Child/She Devil x 2

A lovely place to visit.
We were there just before Steve Irwin died and was spectacular then.
Have a nice day and enjoy all the crocs, they're very friendly.

After meeting up at the Freedom Servo at the bottom of the Toowoomba range we headed off at 7.30am for Australia Zoo. Three PTs including Dennis and his mate Jackson in Aussiecruza, Paul and Deb in She Devil and Jacqui and Brocky in Jelly Bean. The weather was cool but the day was beautiful with lovely blue skies. First a quick pitstop at Esk and then on through a foggy patch to Kilcoy for a stop at the Bakery for a quick coffee and bite to eat. The Kilcoy Bakery has an incredible choice of delicacies to choose from and it all looked so fresh and tempting. About 20kms before we got to Kilcoy, a plum PT joined on to the back of the group. We had no idea who it was, but when we pulled up at the bakery, the driver came over for a chat. He was from Nanango (another little country town in SEQ) and was absolutely thrilled to see 3 other PTs. We had a quick chat and then he took photos of the PTs before heading off with a big wave. Another happy member of the big PT family.
Arriving at the zoo at around 10.30am we were greeted by Kerryn (Blue Diamond) with a mystery guest she had brought along to surprise us all – Samantha (Queen of Bling) who had been in Brisbane all week doing some training. Once we got through the entry gates and picked up our maps it was off to the Crocoseum for the show. The show featured elephants, crocodiles and other reptiles and an amazing free-flight bird show with macaws, black cockatoos, a stork, herons, lorikeets and other birds flying around just above our heads and in some cases right in front of our noses.
After that, we went our separate ways to see all of the amazing creatures at the zoo. Brocky and I stopped for the Elephant Show which was brilliant. It was amazing to see a fully grown elephant swimming and playing with toys in the pool like a puppy. The talk was very informative and the girls looked magnificent.
We met up again for lunch and shared our stories of what we’d seen in the morning and what we were planning to do for the afternoon and then off we went again. Kerryn, Dennis, Brocky and I went to the Birds of Prey show where we saw a Wedgetail eagle, whistling kite, barking owl, blue-winged kookaburra and a huge Andean Condor called “Chief”. Paul and Deb went to the Otter Show where they heard all about the amazing tricks that the otters can get up to.
Meeting up for the mandatory group photos, we headed to the car park and said our good-byes to Kerryn and Samantha. Heading off for the (almost) 3 hour journey home, we stopped at Esk for a coffee stop and arrived home around 7.30.
The weather was fantastic , sun shining, blue skies and temps of around 20 degrees. The Zoo was at its finest and the company was great. We had a good opportunity to use the Garmin and worked out that we shouldn’t believe everything “Kim” tells us.
Thanks everyone.

The Chief wrote:
A lovely place to visit.
We were there just before Steve Irwin died and was spectacular then.
Have a nice day and enjoy all the crocs, they're very friendly.

Doesnt time fly. Do you know it will be 4 years in September since Steve passed away.