12:00a.m. 5th September 2008

| By Sam Benger

Wes Mannion plants a tree in his honour of his best mate, Steve Irwin.

Steve Irwin’s passion for wildlife conservation has spurred on his closest mate, Wes Mannion to continue expansion plans for the Zoo and fight the threat of mining in Cape York.

On the second anniversary of the Croc Hunter’s death yesterday, Wes spoke about Steve’s legacy.

“To be honest mate, (Steve’s anniversary) is the worst day of my life.

“It was the worst day of a my life a couple of years ago, and it still is, so most of the team at the Zoo don’t like to dwell on it, instead we focus on Steve Irwin Day on November 15, when we can be passionate and excited about Steve’s life.”

He said Steve’s plans for the Zoo were being followed through by his family and friends.

“The passion of Steve is inside of us ... and it’s exciting for me to see these plans coming forward and to see what he dreamt of all mapped out. The only downside is that he’s not standing there with me, but I feel him there and I know he’s looking down and saying ‘good on ya mate’.”

He said the Zoo would do everything to ensure Steve’s Place in Cape York was protected after Cape Alumina was awarded rights to explore the region for mining.

He said it was “just the beginning” of the battle.

“It’s going to be a long, hard fight but the most important thing to remember is that what this plan entails is taking the top two to 10 metres of soil off an area of 12,300 hectares, which will leave a giant hole in the ground,” he said. “They’d like you to think it’s just a cattle property, but in reality it is a tropical paradise.”

And he said suggestions that Terri Irwin had a secret agenda to use the wildlife reserve for cattle were ludicrous.

He said it was an agreement of the sub-lease that an existing cattle farmer be allowed to continue using a portion of the land for 15 years. After that, he said, the area would be used completely for conservation and as a nature refuge.

> To Steve Irwin, with love from US