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It's nearly 3 years ago since the death of Steve Irwin, the famous Australian crocodile hunter that captured the hearts of the world with his heroic encounters with crocodiles and snakes. He was a real ambassador for Australia with his larger than life personality and of course, his strong Australian accent. The word "Crikey!" will forever be cemented with Steve Irwin.1992 marked the start of Steve's International success. Steve and his wife decided to film a wildlife documentary about a crocodile rescue mission. This was instead of a more traditional honeymoon. This was the first episode of the "Crocodile Hunter" It became a success almost overnight with a further 150 episodes being filmed. Today it has been viewed by over 500 million people across over 140 countries.Steve's love of wild creatures can be traced back to his upbringing. His family owned a reptile park in Queensland and he took an active role within the park. It was his Dad that introduced him to Australia's wilder animals. He would take Steve on his field trips to the Australian desert to study snakes or to areas in Queensland where they rescued crocodiles or removed them from populated areas.It was at the Reptile Park that Steve met his wife Terri. She was visiting from Eugene, Oregon which is in the centre of the USA. Steve was 29 and Terri was 27. It was apparently love at first site. They had lots in common. Terri herself was into wildlife and had started her won wildlife rehabilitation programme in 1986 called "Cougar Country." She was also a Veterinary Technician in a veterinary hospital.In the 1990's Steve's parents retired from the reptile park handing it over to Steve and Terri. They renamed it Australia Zoo. Today the zoo is probably the most famous zoo in Australia, because of Steve's crocodile encounters.It wasn't long until Steve and Terri decided to have children. Their first was a daughter born in July 1998. They called her Bindi, which is an aboriginal word meaning "Young Girl." It was also the name of Steve's favourite crocodile. Their second child was born in 2003, a boy, whom they named Robert. He is very like his father.On 4th September 2006, a tragic accident took Steve's life. He was hit in the chest by a Stingray's barb and died. The irony! A man that wrestles crocodiles died from a usually harmless stingray. The whole of Australia was in total shock and mourned his death. The ripples were felt throughout the world.Steve was a legend when it came to his charity work. Today Terri, Bindi and Robert continue on with Steve's plans. Australia Zoo is an awesome day out and continues to attract both National and International travellers. It is only an hour or so drive north of Brisbane and should be added to your itinerary if you intend to travel down the East Coast of Australia. If you love animals or have kids, then I strongly recommend spending a day here.The Irwin Family continue to promote Steve's good causes and are celebrities in their own right now. Bindi is perhaps the most well known having her own doll and clothes line.Steve Irwin was without doubt a great Australian. He is sadly missed.