Day 2 in Brisbane

Last night I attempted to wash a few items in the sink, thanks to Tide sink packets, but I'm not quite sure they did the job -- oh well, a new experience at the very least. I went to bed ridiculously early and slept pretty well :-)

At 8:40 this morning, I was picked up by CC's Croc Connections to head to the Sunshine Coast and the Australia Zoo, Steve and Terri Irwin's zoo. One other person from my hostel was on the tour (Martin from Quebec), and we introduced ourselves to the girl already in the bus (Vicky from the UK). After Chris picked up a few others, we were on our way! Chris worked at the Australia Zoo for a couple of years, so he knows all the ins and outs and gave us some great tips for making the most of our day and potentially seeing Steve.

Martin, Vicky, and I stuck together throughout the day, and I'm so thankful for the two of them, because they made the day so much more enjoyable than it would have been alone :-) One of the first things we did was book Vicky's encounter with wombats for the afternoon, and I held a koala and had a professional picture taken. I'll be sure to scan that in when I get home or post the picture that Martin took of me! Other highlights of the day: feeding an elephant three times, feeding several kangaroos and petting them, and taking some great photos of the kangaroos and koalas. We were always on the lookout for Steve, but he didn't do any of the croc shows we attended, and we never saw him on his red and white motorbike that he rides about the zoo. To make up for this, Martin, Vicky, and I posed with cardboard cutouts of Steve, doned a "Steve wig" you could purchase for $50 or so, and marveled at all of the merchandise featuring the Irwin family at the gift shop.

After a really fun day with those two, Chris picked us up and we headed back to Brissie. It's raining now, and my shirt still smells a bit like koala, so I'm going to clean up and then maybe grab some food with Martin and try to connect with Peter.

Cheers!