After two seasons accompanying her son to his I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! set in the African jungle, Terri Irwin’s got a fair lay of the land.
Insiders say the astute businesswoman has even come up with a few suggestions on how to balance the show’s budget next season – namely, by moving it to one of her properties in Australia!
Few know that Terri, 60, is a property magnate outside of Australia Zoo, with one insider speculating her land holdings in Queensland and Tasmania could be worth “northwards of $100 million”.
The family, which also includes Bindi Irwin, her husband Chandler and daughter Grace, base themselves at their home within zoo grounds on the Sunshine Coast, and recently built The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, a luxury accommodation facility near the Zoo, where rooms start at around $1000 per night.
A few hours away is their conservation project Ironbark Station, and rumoured land holdings in Tasmania.
Most importantly, Terri owns the 130,000-hectare Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York, Far North Queensland, which, thanks to its dazzling array of rare and dangerous wildlife, could make the ideal set for I’m A Celeb’s notorious jungle challenges.
While the show, hosted by Robert, 21, and comedy legend Julia Morris is synonymous with South Africa, one TV source points out it was forced to film in Dungay, NSW, due to the pandemic in 2021.
“There wasn’t much they couldn’t do in Oz that they could do in South Africa,” says our insider.
While filming at the Irwin-run Zoo wouldn’t be practical, sources point out the production could easily be set up at one of the family businesses’ many conservation properties.
“With Australia Zoo now offering [The Crocodile Hunter Lodge], their new facilities could easily house the many staff that are involved in bringing the show to life,” says our source.
“There would also be something really special about watching Robert co-host the show in his own backyard.”
When Steve Irwin died after a tragic stingray incident in 2006, his widower Terri inherited his vast real estate empire.
(Image of Australia Zoo: Instagram)
(Image of Cape York: Instagram)
While she offloaded some properties in the years soon after his passing, those close to Terri say she has become a “brilliant and savvy property maven”.
“Currently, it seems Terri owns a whopping 815,000-plus hectares of property across Queensland and Tasmania, so it’s safe to say it is worth upwards of $100 million,” says one source.
“Queensland property prices are soaring at the moment, particularly following a mass interstate migration post-COVID, with the Sunshine Coast seeing record prices.”
