NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On the up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • One Roof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

Sign InSubscribe
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

Four new eco cabins at Australia Zoo come with views of crocs

By Jennifer Johnston
NZ Herald·
6 Apr, 2025 06:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Freshwater Crocodile Spotted in Front of Cabin 18 During the Night. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

Freshwater Crocodile Spotted in Front of Cabin 18 During the Night. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

For a room with a view that makes you go ‘Crikey!’ check out these new eco-cabins, writes Jennifer Johnston

Peering over the edge of the deck on a sandy embankment I spot a crocodile resting on an old bridge beam. The lower section of the beam is partially submerged under water as is the tip of the croc’s tail. A large adult male red kangaroo casually hops into the tranquil scene. He pauses to nibble at the grass. I’m wondering if he notices the crocodile metres away. I do my best ‘Skippy’ impersonation to catch his attention. He stands upright on his hind legs using his tail for support. Crikey! This is one buff kangaroo, taught sinewy muscles stretched across his upper torso. Not bothered by the resting freshwater crocodile a few metres away, ears twitching he eyeballs me for a second, then turns and hops away.

From the deck on our Crocodile Cabin #18 this is one of many immersive interactions with the residential wildlife observed 24 hours in this idyllic enclave within the grounds of the Sunshine Coast’s most popular tourism attraction - the Australia Zoo.

 Australia Zoo. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Australia Zoo. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

New Crocodile Cabins

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In December last year, Australia Zoo opened four luxury cabins - Crocodile Cabins - overlooking new habitat with a five-metre waterfall and a natural spring-fed billabong covered by lilies and reeds. The 4,630 square metre habitat is home to 10 freshwater crocodiles and around 30 endangered Mary River Turtles.

The two-storey two-bedroom Crocodile Cabins sleep up to four people. Each cabin has a lower and upper deck - with comfy chairs for sitting and glass panels for unobstructed viewing. The lower deck is accompanied by a temperature-controlled plunge pool. The light-filled interior has lofty cathedral ceilings and towering windows creating a symbiotic relationship with the outside.

 Mary River Turtles on the Old Bridge Beam. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Mary River Turtles on the Old Bridge Beam. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

The Crocodile Hunter Lodge opened in June 2022 and is part of the late Steve Irwin’s vision to give visitors to Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the opportunity to stay overnight in luxury accommodation.

 Crocodile Cabin – Aerial Exterior View with Plunge Pool. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Crocodile Cabin – Aerial Exterior View with Plunge Pool. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

“Steve always had a dream that one day, people would not just visit Australia Zoo, but stay overnight, and have the immersive experience of listening to and being around wildlife after dark,” Terri Irwin said at the opening.

Eight family-friendly cabins opened in June 2022, followed by four one-bedroom cabins and a three-bedroom fully accessible cabin. Like the rest of Australia Zoo, Steve’s conservation legacy is ever-present. A few freshwater crocodiles in ‘our’ habitat were caught by Steve and relocated to Australia Zoo because they were in danger of being poached.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
 Freshwater Crocodile Spotted in Front of Cabin 18 During the Night. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Freshwater Crocodile Spotted in Front of Cabin 18 During the Night. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

What else comes with your crocodile sleepover

The solid hand-crafted timber cabin front door is made of upcycled timber from the original crocodile grandstands Steve helped build. On the wall near the kitchen is an eye-catching print by Indigenous artists Miimi and Jiindi from the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Bundjalung tribes of Australia’s East Coast.

Guests staying the night receive a welcome gift pack on arrival, breakfast at the Warrior Restaurant, unlimited entry to the zoo and transport between the lodge and Australia Zoo via shuttle bus. Those in the Crocodile Hunter Cabins also receive a $150 dining voucher for the Warrior Restaurant and Bar.

 Breakfast Juices at the Warrior Restaurant. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Breakfast Juices at the Warrior Restaurant. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

During our visit to the zoo, we wander through exhibits and catch a few shows, including watching Robert Irwin do the 1.15 pm ‘Live Croc Feeding’ at the Triple Ponds. (The 5,000-seat stadium Crocoseum is currently closed for renovations until December 2025.) Our visit was towards the end of March, the day was warm and steamy. From the Africa section, we catch the shuttle bus to the Zoo’s entrance, timed perfectly to catch the other shuttle back to the Crocodile Hunter Lodge. I could not wait to dive into the 25-metre infinity pool and cool down. Keen to see sunset over ‘our’ private animal billabong, we return to the cabin stepping straight into the plunge pool on the lower deck.

The menu at the Warrior Restaurant is inspired by Irwin’s family history and features locally-sourced produce. For dinner, I enjoy a plate of tempura vegetables, followed by the beef rendang curry, created as a homage to Steve’s love of making curries while researching crocodiles in remote places.

Experience a Freshie Feed

After dinner, we return to our cabin armed with a tip from our shuttle driver Nicole to use a torch to spot the eye shine of the crocs. Using the welcome gift bag’s handheld torch, from the top deck we clock a golden glowing dot in the man-made ‘river’ below. Have we spied a croc? Tapping on the glass (Robert Irwin at the croc show explained crocs respond to movement and vibration) we watch the golden eye shine moving and make out the shadowy outline of his body. We spy another eye shine across the water. This is fun, we’re like a couple of kids at camp spotting night critters.

Our stay coincided with feeding the freshwater crocs at ‘our’ habitat. Around lunchtime the following day in front of our cabin, two staff stood calling out and banging plastic food containers. Crocs responded and were incoming. From our cabin deck, we have a comfortable and safe viewing platform to observe the freshie feed. (Note the freshie crocs are fed once a week and in winter this slows to monthly.)

 Crocodile Cabin – Exterior View with Waterfall and Lake. Photo / Jennifer Johnston
Crocodile Cabin – Exterior View with Waterfall and Lake. Photo / Jennifer Johnston

The wild side of luxury

At around NZ$2,200 (AU$2,000) per night the Crocodile Cabins are pitched to the higher-end luxe market. While this unique experience may not be in everyone’s budget it is special and one you will not find anywhere else in Australia - especially after dark. I’ll never forget watching the resting croc and the buff red kangaroo or spotting croc eyes after dark. Not something you see every day.

Details

thecrocodilehunterlodge.com.au


Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel

Travel

Unlock South Africa's incredible cuisine with this Kiwi legend

06 Apr 06:00 AM
Travel

How my nighttime wanderings led to Washington DC’s best eateries

06 Apr 12:35 AM
Travel

The Corona Sleeper Train: An unfortunate name for one of Europe's best travel experiences

05 Apr 10:00 PM

Wild safaris and icy expeditions

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Unlock South Africa's incredible cuisine with this Kiwi legend

Unlock South Africa's incredible cuisine with this Kiwi legend

06 Apr 06:00 AM

The much-loved author shares her top travel tips for eating well abroad.

How my nighttime wanderings led to Washington DC’s best eateries

How my nighttime wanderings led to Washington DC’s best eateries

06 Apr 12:35 AM
The Corona Sleeper Train: An unfortunate name for one of Europe's best travel experiences

The Corona Sleeper Train: An unfortunate name for one of Europe's best travel experiences

05 Apr 10:00 PM
A backpacker, a bar, and a promise in Bali: Kiwi shares wild 16-year love story

A backpacker, a bar, and a promise in Bali: Kiwi shares wild 16-year love story

05 Apr 06:00 PM
40 truly remarkable years
sponsored

40 truly remarkable years

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP