Australia Zoo sits in Beerwah, Queensland, on the Sunshine Coast, roughly an hour’s drive north of Brisbane. What began in 1970 as a small reptile park run by Bob and Lyn Irwin grew into one of the country’s best-known wildlife attractions after their son, Steve Irwin, took over management in 1991 and later gained worldwide fame through the television series The Crocodile Hunter.
Renamed Australia Zoo in 1998, the park now covers more than 750 acres of land in total, with about 110 acres open to visitors. The zoo is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm, 364 days a year, closing only on Christmas Day. Following Steve Irwin’s death in 2006, his wife Terri became owner, and their daughter Bindi Irwin now serves as CEO, continuing the family’s conservation-focused approach to the park.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Beerwah, Queensland, Australia
- Opened: June 3, 1970
- Hours: Open daily 9:00am-5:00pm, closed only on Christmas Day
- Size: 110 acres open to public (750+ acres total)
- Animal count: Over 1,200 animals
- Annual visitors: About 700,000
- Famous for: Steve Irwin’s Crocodile Hunter legacy and the Crocoseum stadium shows
What to See at the Park
Australia Zoo is built around large, immersive exhibits rather than traditional cages. The Crocoseum, a roughly 5,000-seat stadium, hosts live animal presentations featuring crocodiles and birds of prey. The African Safari area lets visitors view giraffes, zebras, and rhinos in open habitat, while Tiger Temple, opened in April 2005, showcases the zoo’s tigers in a themed setting.
Elephantasia, a 12-acre Asian-inspired enclosure, houses the zoo’s elephants, and native Australian wildlife including koalas and kangaroos remain a core part of the collection that first put the park on the map.
Planning Your Visit
With gates open every day from 9am to 5pm except Christmas Day, visitors typically plan for a full day to catch the scheduled animal presentations at the Crocoseum along with self-guided time in the safari and reptile areas. Behind the visitor attractions, Australia Zoo also operates a wildlife hospital covering about 1,300 square meters that treats thousands of sick, injured, and orphaned animals each year, reflecting the conservation mission Steve Irwin built the park’s reputation on.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
Australia Zoo FAQs
What are Australia Zoo’s opening hours?
Australia Zoo is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm, 364 days a year. The only day it closes is Christmas Day, December 25th.
Who founded Australia Zoo?
It was founded by Bob and Lyn Irwin in 1970 as a reptile park; their son Steve Irwin later expanded it into Australia Zoo, and the Irwin family still runs it today.
How many animals live at Australia Zoo?
The zoo is home to over 1,200 animals across its exhibits, including native Australian species and animals from around the world.
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Photo: DaHuzyBru / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.