Australia Zoo & drive up to Noosa
I've felt like a big kid all day today! We changed the time of the car hire so we could pick it up early and get to Australia Zoo for opening time. We were up at 6am to collect the car, which went well, except the indicator stick is on the right and the windscreen wipers are on the left. Our windows are now sparkling clean because I keep clicking the wrong side. It's so automatic that I forget even having made the same mistake 2 minutes earlier. Maybe by the end of 4 days I'll have the hang of it!
We were so keen that we were due to be an hour early before opening time but we took a quick detour off the main route to a lookout point. We were both enjoying the feeling of independence, not having to rely on public transport is extremely liberating! The views were stunning over the glass house mountains. We didn't stay long but it was lovely to get up high and see what we had been driving through.
Then the fun began! We were both buzzing at the entrance gate and we got tips from the ticket lady of the best technique to cover the whole zoo! We first went to a section to touch interesting animals such as a koala, eagle, snake and blue tongue lizard. I was very proud of Edd when he came out from behind his camera to touch the snake.
We then saw a show about the biggest tortoises in the world, the Aldabra tortoise. They can live to be 200 years old and 300kgs. The ones we saw were in their 30s and 180kg!! All I kept thinking was the tortoise weighed the same as dad's wheelchair! The lady explained that sex was very dangerous for the male because if he risked mounting the female and she pushed him off he could flip over and that meant almost certain death as they can't turn themselves back over. These guys were very very cool, one loved being rubbed and stood right up when his back knees were stroked, I love them and their wrinkly skin!
We started through the park and visited some dingos, tazzie devils and big emus. The funnies bit was that their were loads of wild iguanas or some sort of lizard running around the park freely and Edd and I got trapped a couple of times by these on the paths. They are very comfortable around humans and are in no hurry to move, we were not so comfortable getting past them! Edd jumped out of his skin a couple of times throughout the day when a leaf brushed his foot!
Next in line was the otters show and we learnt bits about how intelligent otters are, in the wild they live between 8-10 years. The two we saw were 15 and 13 and still doing well, they work as a team and look after each other in every aspect of their lives. The keepers had taught them tricks but they explained only ones that were important to keep them healthy and their brain active, for example the make them stand up on their back legs, this gives the keeper a chance to check the old animals for any injuries or infections without touching them. Did you know otters resting heart rate is 200 beats a min, incredibly fast!
Edd and I then worked methodically through all the pens/areas to make sure we didn't miss anything! At 12pm we had the big show! They let lots of birds fly around the mini stadium which was actually really interesting, it's rare that you get to see such stunning unusual birds so close in flight. We had parrots and eagles and even a vulture fly through. They also bought lots snakes into the audience and then it was time for the big croc Charlie. He was huge and the keepers got him to move around the pool by getting in the water and splashing, they fed him bits of chicken and made him jump up to show us just how high they can push up on their tail, it's was very impressive.
Edd and I ran to see the giraffes and beat the crowd before working our way back past tigers, white rhinos and birds of prey. We spent a long while in the kangaroo section slowly getting closer and closer to them as we got braver, they fascinate me, I can't work out where their centre of gravity is, it's insane how they balance. We saw loads of kolas too which Edd and I both love but I have to admit they don't do much but look cute and sleep!
By the time we had finished it was 4pm, that's 7 hours of animal watching and we even ate during the main show so as not to waste time! What I love is that although it was definitely my thing Edd was as geeky and enthusiastic about it and was happy to run around and plan the day with me! He even braved it into the snake centre and got up close to a few massive pythons and crocs!
Our last stop was a quick visit to the animal hospital. It wasn't anything special as its a working hospital and I guess a lot is done behind the scenes but we were able to see into the operating theatre which was brilliant for me, they use some of the same equipment! (For my colleagues- bair hungers, suctions and tourniquets) but the anaesthetic machines looked like a very old, simple and basic version of ours!
Edd then drove us the rest of the way to Noosa, I think he was nervous about driving and I was nervous about navigating but we made it to the hostel without any major dramas. Tonight is our first hostel! We're still in a separate room but we are sat in the communal lounge at the moment. It's very cool, very interactive, lots of fun activities, exciting tours, free bus into town and they had a BBQ tonight for everyone to get involved in.
The thing is, everyone also has their phone/a laptop and a wifi code. I haven't really done masses of hosteling but I feel like things have changed, I can't work out if it's me and I'm now married, only staying one night and happy to get an early night but I don't feel like people are really socialising or bonding like they used to. There are lots of people say in the communal area but without fail no one is talking and everyone had their phone out, I'm obviously no exception!
We had a quick trip into Noosa before dinner to see how things had changed since I was here 15 years ago with the family. As far as I can remember the big difference is that the green space next to the beach has gone and instead is a big, long row of deluxe hotels/apartments. It's a buzzing street of high end boutique shops and expensive looking restaurants.
It was soooo good to have simple, healthy, home cooked food! We had lots of veg and pesto and pasta cooked amongst lost of travellers all sharing a kitchen together but with little interaction even after I tried (almost too hard) with a few people! Edd's watching the Rugby Leauge game on the communal tv and we'll be going for an early night after our early start this morning.
I've felt like a big kid all day today! We changed the time of the car hire so we could pick it up early and get to Australia Zoo for opening time. We were up at 6am to collect the car, which went well, except the indicator stick is on the right and the windscreen wipers are on the left. Our windows are now sparkling clean because I keep clicking the wrong side. It's so automatic that I forget even having made the same mistake 2 minutes earlier. Maybe by the end of 4 days I'll have the hang of it!
We were so keen that we were due to be an hour early before opening time but we took a quick detour off the main route to a lookout point. We were both enjoying the feeling of independence, not having to rely on public transport is extremely liberating! The views were stunning over the glass house mountains. We didn't stay long but it was lovely to get up high and see what we had been driving through.
Then the fun began! We were both buzzing at the entrance gate and we got tips from the ticket lady of the best technique to cover the whole zoo! We first went to a section to touch interesting animals such as a koala, eagle, snake and blue tongue lizard. I was very proud of Edd when he came out from behind his camera to touch the snake. 
We then saw a show about the biggest tortoises in the world, the Aldabra tortoise. They can live to be 200 years old and 300kgs. The ones we saw were in their 30s and 180kg!! All I kept thinking was the tortoise weighed the same as dad's wheelchair! The lady explained that sex was very dangerous for the male because if he risked mounting the female and she pushed him off he could flip over and that meant almost certain death as they can't turn themselves back over. These guys were very very cool, one loved being rubbed and stood right up when his back knees were stroked, I love them and their wrinkly skin!
We started through the park and visited some dingos, tazzie devils and big emus. The funnies bit was that their were loads of wild iguanas or some sort of lizard running around the park freely and Edd and I got trapped a couple of times by these on the paths. They are very comfortable around humans and are in no hurry to move, we were not so comfortable getting past them! Edd jumped out of his skin a couple of times throughout the day when a leaf brushed his foot!
Next in line was the otters show and we learnt bits about how intelligent otters are, in the wild they live between 8-10 years. The two we saw were 15 and 13 and still doing well, they work as a team and look after each other in every aspect of their lives. The keepers had taught them tricks but they explained only ones that were important to keep them healthy and their brain active, for example the make them stand up on their back legs, this gives the keeper a chance to check the old animals for any injuries or infections without touching them. Did you know otters resting heart rate is 200 beats a min, incredibly fast!
Edd and I then worked methodically through all the pens/areas to make sure we didn't miss anything! At 12pm we had the big show! They let lots of birds fly around the mini stadium which was actually really interesting, it's rare that you get to see such stunning unusual birds so close in flight. We had parrots and eagles and even a vulture fly through. They also bought lots snakes into the audience and then it was time for the big croc Charlie. He was huge and the keepers got him to move around the pool by getting in the water and splashing, they fed him bits of chicken and made him jump up to show us just how high they can push up on their tail, it's was very impressive.
Edd and I ran to see the giraffes and beat the crowd before working our way back past tigers, white rhinos and birds of prey. We spent a long while in the kangaroo section slowly getting closer and closer to them as we got braver, they fascinate me, I can't work out where their centre of gravity is, it's insane how they balance. We saw loads of kolas too which Edd and I both love but I have to admit they don't do much but look cute and sleep!
By the time we had finished it was 4pm, that's 7 hours of animal watching and we even ate during the main show so as not to waste time! What I love is that although it was definitely my thing Edd was as geeky and enthusiastic about it and was happy to run around and plan the day with me! He even braved it into the snake centre and got up close to a few massive pythons and crocs!
Our last stop was a quick visit to the animal hospital. It wasn't anything special as its a working hospital and I guess a lot is done behind the scenes but we were able to see into the operating theatre which was brilliant for me, they use some of the same equipment! (For my colleagues- bair hungers, suctions and tourniquets) but the anaesthetic machines looked like a very old, simple and basic version of ours!
Edd then drove us the rest of the way to Noosa, I think he was nervous about driving and I was nervous about navigating but we made it to the hostel without any major dramas. Tonight is our first hostel! We're still in a separate room but we are sat in the communal lounge at the moment. It's very cool, very interactive, lots of fun activities, exciting tours, free bus into town and they had a BBQ tonight for everyone to get involved in. 
The thing is, everyone also has their phone/a laptop and a wifi code. I haven't really done masses of hosteling but I feel like things have changed, I can't work out if it's me and I'm now married, only staying one night and happy to get an early night but I don't feel like people are really socialising or bonding like they used to. There are lots of people say in the communal area but without fail no one is talking and everyone had their phone out, I'm obviously no exception!
We had a quick trip into Noosa before dinner to see how things had changed since I was here 15 years ago with the family. As far as I can remember the big difference is that the green space next to the beach has gone and instead is a big, long row of deluxe hotels/apartments. It's a buzzing street of high end boutique shops and expensive looking restaurants.
It was soooo good to have simple, healthy, home cooked food! We had lots of veg and pesto and pasta cooked amongst lost of travellers all sharing a kitchen together but with little interaction even after I tried (almost too hard) with a few people! Edd's watching the Rugby Leauge game on the communal tv and we'll be going for an early night after our early start this morning.
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