Now a couple of years ago Sarah was temping at Carlton Screen Advertising, where Anya was working. One morning whilst they were busy starting the day, they heard the saddest news that Steve Irwin had passed away. They were so sad that they went to the Portait (their local) that very night.
So, now in Australia and heading to Brisbane, they decided they would go and pay their respects to Stevie and visit his zoo; Australia Zoo. They'd also had a lot of zoo fun back in Bangkok on Anya's birthday so were keen to re-live some of that. They were excited. And once they had been picked up by the van taking them there and were given a 'I Love Crocs' badge, they were even more excited. Could the day possibly get any better? Well it did.
After an emotional video about Steve Irwin on the van, they arrived. Badges on, map in one hand, camera in the other they darted through the entrance. They were like kids in a zoo. Only a little bit older. Just a little. They headed to the elephants where they gave a hand in feeding them. Sarah took a photo of Anya, which was clearly not allowed (due to professional ones being taken and the big zoo money making scheme) and she got told off and they ran on to the next bit of the zoo - a crocodile and bird show.
I bit later on they entered the kangaroo bit. Sarah and Anya went and bought some food once they realised they were allowed to feed the kangaroos and hopped on back to do some feeding. They loved it. Bent down and feeding them, and talking to them, the kangaroos were really gorgeous and the pair loved being that close to them. They took some pictures, laughed at a particular amusing one of the 3 of them (Anya, Sarah and Roo) and headed on to take the internal train to see the elephants again. They jumped on to the train, sighed at the day's heat and laughed hard when the train took them 20 metres and they were at their destination already. That's the way they roll. The thing they enjoyed about the zoo, was that it wasn't just a zoo where they put on shows etc. It's just their home, and people are there to just observe how they get looked after. So watching the elephants wasn't a show, it was a daily routine of how they check the health of the elephants and feed them.
Next up were the tigers. Anya's favourite. And it was play time. A young girl jumped around with the year old cubs and played with them in the water. It was amazing to watch. Anya loved tigers and wanted one for a pet. She was hoping her parents would maybe buy her one for her next birthday.
Then for the cutest part of the day. The koala hugging part. They queued up, and got even more excited at the prospect of hugging such a cute koala. Anya went first, and Sarah took a few great pictures on her camera. She stepped forward, held her arms out as instructed and hugged the koala and smiled for her snap. The koala was so warm and Anya just wanted to take him home. Maybe she could ask for a tiger AND a koala. She didn't see why not... and then it was Sarah's turn. Anya returned the favour and took some pics on Sarah's camera as well as her getting the professional one done.
And then already it was time for the zoo fun to end. But not before watching the crocodiles being fed. It was amazing. They watched as the two men ran about the croc pen, ensuring the croc didn't eat him. He then went up on a big step and fed a chicken to the crocodile. Anya was pleased with a perfect shot she got of the action. And a video. It was really great. And then for some questions from the audience.
"Do crocodiles eat ice cream?" someone shouted. There's always one isn't there. but that wasn't the question of the day. The question of the day came from a lady who was sat with her husband and two children...
"What does the inside of a crocodiles belly look like?"
The man in charge paused and replied "Oh do you mean the underneath?"
"No no no, I mean the insides of the crocodiles belly" she repeated.
Sarah and Anya but the sides of their mouths and looked away. What? Did she really ask that?! The man just looked mightily confused and gave a good answer of "Oh I can't say i've ever seen crocodiles insides, probably just the same as anyone elses stomach insides."
'Bloody stupid woman' the girls thought.
And with that they went off to the photo lab to pick up their koala pictures. Sarah wasn't too keen on hers. Anya thought it was a stunning picture of her, as usual. Sarah was extremely photogenic and there was rarely, if ever, a bad photo of her. Anya liked hers and was excited for her parents to see it as well. After a look in to souvenir shop (some taking longer than others), and a funny photo with a teddy koala, they were back on the bus home again.
In the evening the girls just went for a drink in the hostel to bar. They had to catch their bus to Byron Bay the next day so didn't plan for a big night out. But things don't usually go to plan. They ended up having a good old boogey and started chatting to a few people. One guy was on his first night out after being divorced. Anya felt a bit sorry for him until he guessed her age at 28. She told him he looked 60 and headed back to the bar.
As they left the bar to find the golden arches, they quite randomly came across a group of 8 young guys wearing the same t-shirts with 'Poker' written on them. The girls stopped them and asked what thye were up to and they'd all just finished 'Poker club'. Lots of laughing and a poker face stand off later, they were happily filled with chicken Mcnuggets, and tucked up in their hot sauna, dead cockroach infested room.
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