CRIKEY!

I like most others who have been exposed to Steve Irwin and his fervour for animals, was saddened by his harrowing and untimely death. It was our fortune that my kids Toni, Leon and I had the priviledge of visiting Steve's Australia Zoo with my father on one of our trips to Australia, this one being in July 2004. The Australia Zoo in Beerwah is situated about an hours drive north of Brisbane and is on route to my Grandmothers farm which is yet a further hour north inland. My mother was spending the day with my Grandmother at her retirement home in the quaint town of Maleny not far off which saw the rest of us trooping off the get a dose of Steve's zoological passion.

We did not see Steve on that visit that day. However, in taking in the different aspects of the zoo, we could feel a marked spirit of dilligence and conscientiousness in the animal carers and other supporting staff. The animals were chirpy and healthy, the place was clean and there was a sense of "vision" in the air with us visitors being educated on how the zoo was expanding step by step to deliver a more complete and expansive experience with nature. Passion coupled with practical planning had obviously made the difference.

What however brings me to my blog this time is to recount a chance experience I had at the zoo. There was a daily "ritual" where at a certain time, a few elephants would walk by and stop at a certain spot to be fed by excited (and nervous) children. These children were of course made to line up first and each child was given a piece of cut up fruit. It was while waiting in line that I overhead what seemed to be a senior staff telling a junior compatriot - "cut up more fruit to make sure that every child has a go". There were obviously more children than expected that day and in a spirit of excellence, the carers did not wish any child to miss out on the feeding experience. Steve's rich and wholesome approach to animals and their conservation had so obviously permeated into the work ethic of those exposed to him. Sometimes we seem inundated with cliches but "make a difference" had not been just a cliche to him.