Crikey Mate! Australia Zoo is Steve Irwin’s legacy.

It’s a 700 acre zoo located on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland with a decent selection of Australian, Asian and African animals and an awful lot of crocodiles. It leans heavily on its Steve Irwin connection from the Crikey Cafe to the Crocoseum to members of the Irwin family routinely leading the daily crocodile show.

Australia Zoo is a fun day out for the whole family.

During the school holidays Australia Zoo also offers the chance for kids to be zookeepers for the day. The kids are taken around the zoo by a zookeeper guide; they interact with a selection of animals. and finish with VIP seats at the daily Wildlife Warriors crocodile show in the Crocoseum.

Different programs are offered depending on the age of your child:

Khaki Explorer Ages 4-6 $99 per child

Khaki Discovery Ages 7-11 $119 per child

Khaki Extreme Ages 12-16 $129 per child

Khaki Explorer Ages 4-6

My 5 year old and I went on the Khaki Explorer session. Here’s what we did:

• Patted and had a photo with a giant tortoise
• Fed the turtles their breakfast
• Had our photo taken with a koala
• Spent some time in the education centre learning about eggs and feathers
• Fed worms to a very friendly curlew from our hands
• Watched the crocodile show while eating our lunch

The highlight was the giant tortoise, as these are just such unusual animals to see in an Australian zoo, and so entertaining to watch.

The Explorers receive a drawstring bag and cap at the beginning of the program which must be worn throughout. They also get a special gift to take home at the end.

Our Review

The Khaki Explorer program is only 3 hours long, and we spent quite a lot of that time having bathroom breaks, morning tea, and 30 minutes in the education centre. Given the short window we would have preferred to spend the time with more animals. or perhaps hop on the shuttle and see the zebras and giraffes.

You don’t actually get to see a lot of the zoo in this program, completely missing out the African and Asian animals. My 5 year old was very excited to see the red pandas which they do have in Australia Zoo, but we didn’t go anywhere near this section.

Once the crocodile show is over you are taken straight out of the zoo and can’t go back in. This means no opportunity to purchase a cold drink or ice cream after the program.

We did love the interactive nature of the program, and it was great to have the close contact with the animals.

Overall this was a great program. Very interactive for the little kids with plenty of animal encounters and we had a fantastic guide. But perhaps could have been streamlined to show you more of the zoo.

The Khaki Explorer program is best suited to kids who have already been to Australia Zoo.

Khaki Discover Ages 7-11

No adults are allowed to go around with these kids so I’m relying on my 9 year old to keep me informed. Here’s what the Khaki Discoverers did:

• Fed the giraffes some carrots
• Patted some tortoises
• Watched the lemurs being trained
• Made some toys for the Tasmanian Devils
• Watched the crocodile show

Our Review

The Khaki Discover program has a longer duration of 5 hours. The direct interactions with the animals are perhaps fewer than the younger group, but they do get to see the whole zoo.

The Discoverers also receive a drawstring bag and cap that must be worn throughout the day as well as a water bottle to take home.

A highlight of both programs is the VIP seats to the daily crocodile show. The crocodile show at Australia Zoo – officially called the Wildlife Warriors Show – is a big deal. Held in the massive Crocoseum once a day you get to see birds of prey flying around and crocodiles snapping food from the trainers. The show is packed out everyday so it was a real perk to have exclusive seats for this.

For both groups, the zookeeper guides were excellent. They are so patient with the kids and will answer all of their questions. They are also knowledgeable and passionate about the animals, and this rubs off on the kids.

Lunch

Lunch is included in the tickets and will be had at various times depending on which program you’re in. For the Khaki Explorers they had lunch on their laps during the crocodile show. Lunch was a sandwich or hot dog with a piece of fruit, bag of chips and a drink.

Good To Know

Parents must accompany the kids in the Explorer group, but are not allowed to go with the kids in the Discovery or Extreme groups.

If you have kids of different ages the start times were a little tricky with the older group starting an hour and a half before the young ones. They may let you into the zoo while you wait but that’s not guaranteed. Another option is to wander up and have a look at the animal hospital for $2 each.

All programs do finish approximately at the same time after the crocodile show so you can meet your older zookeeper at the end. You will also see them during the crocodile show, which all junior zookeepers will attend.

Top Tips

Bring your own snacks for morning tea.

Bring plenty of water. Australia Zoo is very large and its layout means there’s always a lot of walking, even for the junior groups. This can make for a long, hot day, especially in the heat of the summer. There are no opportunities to purchase more water or refill your bottles.

The Zookeeper For A Day program runs during the school holidays only and does sell out well in advance. Sign up for the newsletter and be sure to keep an eye out when they release new dates.

Final Thoughts

Australia Zoo is a fun, upbeat place where they really care about the animals.

On the whole the kids had a blast at their respective Zookeeper For A Day programs. They were engaged and enjoyed interacting with the animals. It’s something a little different to keep them busy during the school holidays and would make a great Christmas or birthday present.

For tickets to Australia Zoo click here.

For more school holiday ideas in Brisbane have a read of this.