Brisbane - City Sanctuaries

Brisbane city is the sub-tropical capital city of Queensland and is  the third largest city in Australia. The three most notable parks located in Brisbane city are The City Botanical Gardens, Roma Street Parkland and The Brisbane Botanical Gardens located on Mount Coot-tha. All are home to some unique Australian animals. 

City Botanical Gardens, formally Brisbane Botanical Gardens and home to Harriot the Galapagos Tortoise for over 100 years

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Water Dragon

Laughing Kookaburra

Australian White Ibis 

Saint Andrews Cross Spider

Selection of Native Ducks 

Dusky Moorhen

Zoo Way-finding

The expectations of visiting a zoo are different for everyone. Generally people visit zoos to see the animals and that’s probably where the correlation ends. Some of us like the surprises and sense of adventure we get from visiting a zoo. Some like the rides, shows and other activities a zoo may provide. Others like to have a one-on-one encounter with animals and some can’t think of anything worse and simply visit the zoo to relax and have some quality family time.  Whatever the reason is that we visit a zoo, when we enter those gates, we want it immediately. We want to feel in control, we want to know where everything is and we want it to be easy and convenient to navigate the way to our personalised experience.  Any less of an experience usually ends up on Trip Adviser! And that’s where way-finding comes into play.
  

Central Park Zoo Map

So let’s look at a variety of the more obvious methods zoos use to help in way-finding.  Maps are the main tool to help us  find our way around a zoo, and most zoos give that to patrons at point of entry. Of course nowadays we often have access to this map online, giving us an opportunity to plan the day way before we get there and use on mobile devices to find our way around the zoo.

Orientation Point at Australia Zoo

Marker - coinciding with park map

Once inside, signs are key to helping us make our way around the zoo.  Good signage will point out directions and location of animals and services  – this is most effectively achieved in picture form so that visitors from all nationalities can understand them.   

Larger zoos like the Bronx Zoo have maps placed at the front of each themed area like  Africa or Asia giving  a more detailed look at each specific location – these areas are generally themed to coincide with the type of animals housed, in some good examples even down to the bins. Generally these themed areas are shaded a different colour on the zoo map with the signs in the themed area having a corresponding colour. Some zoos also paint different colour shapes onto the walking paths and represent this on the Map. Taronga Zoo uses green circles to represent the main path going through the zoo and other colours highlighting  the nine themed loop paths that take you further into the zoo. 

Africa at the Bronx Zoo

Land marks can also be used for visitors to get their bearings, and if they are large enough they can then be used to gauge their location in relation to the land mark.  Many zoos also provide  Information desks at the front section of zoos to give people even more information about how to get around the zoo as well as advertise show times and value add propositions.Some zoos also place staff or volunteers in key spots to help point visitors in the direction of up coming events and shows.

Lastly a well designed zoo can make all the difference. The best form of zoo design is a loop configuration-meaning if you keep on walking you will eventually get back to the beginning.  Of course the zoo doesn't want everybody walking the same way as it could  put pressure on services so visitors are given options at the front of the zoo - one way to the lions and another way to the tigers giving visitors a 'choose your own adventure' moment . Some zoos don't have the luxury of a loop configuration so have a transportation system like trains, shuttles or even cable cars to whisk people back to the front of the zoo once they get to the very end. 

Alma Park Wildlife Sanctuary

All of this can seem a little overkill  - after all when was the last time you heard of a person getting lost in a zoo? The truth is this isn't about you getting lost or even necessarily finding your way around. It's a science and is all about how it makes you feel. The more you don't think about how you're getting around the zoo the more the zoo can control your movement towards shows, food and souvenirs!

When a zoo puts their way-finding together, and then adds an itinerary of shows, feeding times and keeper talks, they can pretty much determine where a majority of people are going to be at any given moment and then use this fact to entertain and provide extra services. All the while giving you the experience you came for in the first place!

For example big crowd pleasing shows  can be held at lunch time close to the zoos restaurants encouraging  patrons to have lunch straight after the show is complete. Australia Zoo does this well providing one trade mark crocodile show daily  at 12 noon. They hold this in a large stadium called the Crocoseum which is big enough to hold all of the zoo visitors for that day. Once the show is complete visitors exit past an equally big food hall, all for your convenience of course. 

Manipulation and working with way-finding  happens all the time from the placement of objects like the ATM at the front gate to the location of food carts, photo opportunities with animals, and balloon sellers at the most convenient locations. The fact is that a good zoo will create a way-finding system to give patrons a great experience  whilst using it to maximise their profit. It's just good business. 

Australia Zoo review

Location - 1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah, Queensland, Australia

Entry Price – Adults $59.00AUD Children (3-14) $47.00AUD Pensioner $47.00AUD

Opening Hours – 9.00am to 5.00pm. Open from 1pm to    5pm Anzac Day 25^th April. Closed Christmas Day

Australia Zoo web page 

Layout 

Australia Zoo started off as a reptile park in the 1970s and has slowly expanded over the years to include a reasonable selection of Australian, Asian and more recently African animals.  You can almost trace the zoo's expansion as you enter and explore the grounds. For example the front of the zoo near the entrance is all about reptiles- where you can find a selection of lizards, snakes, alligators, crocodiles, tortoise and turtles. A stadium style presentation area called the Crocoseum is located close to the reptile enclosures and is the site of their crocodile feeding display, held daily. Moving past the reptile section the zoo opens up to enclosures for koalas, kangaroos and a variety of indigenous Australian birds and mammals. Walking on towards the back of the zoo is the Asian animal section and the location of elephants, tigers and red pandas. Moving on even further is the location of the newest section to the zoo, Africa – where you will find giraffes, zebras and rhinoceroses.

Savannah in the African section of Australia Zoo

 The zoo has a selection of food and gift stalls throughout, with the main restaurant located near the Crocoseum. The paths are well signed and a shuttle service provides easy access to the main attractions via five shuttle stops.  The Crocoseum is also the location to collect your photos if you participate in any of the animal encounters whilst exploring the zoo. Free WiFi locations and ATMs are also provided at the main entry and Crocoseum.

Extra Activities

The zoo has a broad itinerary of shows, animal feeding experiences and talks throughout the day. If you only have a limited time to see the zoo, customised motorised caddie tours can be arranged. There are so many (free) hands-on opportunities to participate in that it is well worth planning your day prior to visiting.  

Breeding Programs

This is the home of the Crocodile Hunter, the late Steve Irwin and his commitment to conservation is still evident throughout the zoo. The zoo emphasis currently is on tigers, Asian elephants, crocodiles (of course) and wombats. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is one of the largest wildlife hospitals in the world and takes in local injured wildlife.  It can be visited for a couple of extra dollars on top of your entry ticket.

Stu’s Favourite Bit

I loved the new African section and although it is still a work in progress with a new cheetah enclosure currently being built, with so much room for development this section is only going to get better. The savannah enclosure is spectacular with sweeping grasslands housing giraffes, zebras and rhinoceroses. No matter what else they do to this section the savannah will be the centerpiece and dominate the view. I was also lucky enough to see the new baby rhino explore the mud pools located on the savannah on the day I visited.

Go HERE to see a selection of animals found at Australia Zoo at Stu @ the zoo TV

 

Feeding time for the new baby rhino

Stu’s review and tips

Australia Zoo has been expanding steadily in the last 10 years from an Australian wildlife park to a fully-fledged zoo and currently does not have a huge variety of animals that can be found at a lot of the big world zoos. For example they don’t house any primates, and apart from Australian animals have only a limited selection of African and Asian Animals. What they do have are some of the most spectacular enclosures I have ever seen in any zoo. In fact there is so much that is high-quality about this zoo that it is impossible for me to describe how impressed I was in just a few paragraphs.

Tiger Temple in the Asian section of the zoo is impressively themed. The tigers have a large space to roam that includes deep pools to swim in, platforms to sleep on and expansive grassed areas to run and play on. The theming leading into the temple certainly sets the mood as does the theming throughout the entire Asia section. You can feed the two Asian elephants at 10.30 in the morning and 3.00 in the afternoon. There is no extra charge for this experience. 

 

Some of the theming at Tiger Temple

 Water features and art work are impressive inclusions to the already beautiful gardens.  All of the paths are well signed making getting around this clean zoo very easy. I would suggest that if you’re not too keen on walking, that you hop on the zoo shuttle at station number one near the entry of the zoo and ride it to station number five in Africa. The zoo is not a complete walking loop, and this will save you from walking all the way to the end of the zoo only to have to turn around and walk the same path back. 

 

Water feature at the Kangaroo & Wallaby Walk through

The main show held at the Crocoseum at 12 noon daily is a lot of fun and includes birds, snakes and crocodiles - and comes as part of your entry price. Apart from the excellent shows held throughout the park, the zoo also anticipates crowd movement by having keepers with animals stationed at key locations during the day. This is a great opportunity to get up close to koalas, baby crocodiles, snakes,  camels and some interesting birds. You may even catch a wombat or cheetah being taken for their daily walk on a lead. 

 

Crowd participation at the Crocoseum

The memory of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, is still a central part of Australia Zoo with images, statues and memorial displays looming large. Although like so many other people I admired Steve Irwin for his contagious enthusiasm in the pursuit of conservation it did get a little cringe-worthy  when I saw talking Crocodile Hunter dolls for sale at the gift store.

I think Australia Zoo has found the perfect formula to be one of the world’s great zoos. Animal-friendly enclosures, entertaining informative shows, hands-on animal experiences, friendly staff all in a well-designed environment combine to make a modern zoo experience and I can’t wait to see what they do next.