Queue at Beerwah Australia Zoo causes chaos as visitors wait in sun

Australia Zoo visitors were confronted with long queues in the sun at an overflow car park, while the Bruce Hwy has also become like a “car park” due to heavy congestion.

Australia Zoo visitors were queueing in 30-degree heat as they waited for transport to the tourist attraction from an overflow car park.

One visitor to the zoo said they had to queue at the overflow carpark to get into another queue for the bus.

Photos of the overflow car park showed long lines of people snaking around a grassy area with no shade to hop onto a bus and another queue leading to a canopy.

Two portaloos were also pictured.

Zoo patron Scott Latimer, of the Gold Coast, said he had visited the tourism mecca three or four times and had never seen it so busy.

Scott Latimer, of the Gold Coast, has visited Australia Zoo several times and he has never seen it so busy.

He said his family had travelled from the south along Steve Irwin Way and were stuck in traffic about 1.7km from the zoo entrance.

Mr Latimer said the car park was “near full” when they arrived but stewards made finding a car park easier.

A separate queue at the Australia Zoo overflow car park.

“The name of the day was queues, whether you were queuing for a coffee or queueing for a car park or queueing for a table,” he said.

“But the staff were great.

“There were a lot of prams, parents and kids.”

He said people just needed to be patient.

A queue at the Australia Zoo overflow car park.

The queues at the zoo’s overflow car park come as other photos have emerged of gridlock traffic on the Bruce Hwy at the Landsborough-Caloundra overpass.

The traffic was described as a “car park” with “no cars moving” on the south-bound section of the highway.

Heavy congestion has caused Bruce Hwy gridlock at Landsborough in the Sunshine Coast.

Traffic issues were also reported on the Bruce Hwy yesterday with heavy congestion in the afternoon between Beerburrum and Burpengary, and earlier between Beerwah and Caboolture.

The advice from RACQ public policy head Michael Kane yesterday was for motorists to “pack your patience” and try to travel outside of peak times.

Australia Zoo has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Queue at Beerwah Australia Zoo causes chaos as visitors wait in sun