Bindi Irwin opens up on 'whirlwind' life with Steve Irwin as she reveals his chronic health battle

Bindi Irwin has opened up about her childhood with her father, the late Steve Irwin, who died when she was just eight years old.

Speaking to Sarah Grynberg on the A Life of Greatness, Bindisaid her family's life was a "whirlwind" and a "hurricane of adventure and wonder because of dad".

But she also revealed that her father suffered "terrible insomnia" which caused him to wake up in the dead of night.

READ MORE: King's message of strength after his nation endures worst every tragedyKing's message of strength after his nation endures worst every tragedy

"He had terrible insomnia. I mean, he just never slept," she said.

"He would wake up at 2am and by the time everyone else's workday has started, he'd put in a full day's work," she said.

Her father's incredible work ethic was made clear by a recent discovery in the Australia Zoo offices when staff were clearing out a cupboard before a renovation.

READ MORE: Bindi Irwin on 'ten plus years of being really, really sick'

"People may not realise that he had such a scientific mind," she said.

"I was looking through his journals and he would just write down, I mean, thousands, it's not an exaggeration, but thousands of pages worth of information and facts and studies and findings."

She said "by the time everyone else's workday has started, he'd put in a full day's work, and he would spend that time because the world is dark".

"He would spend that time researching and studying. And that's where these these journals came from."

Steve Irwin rose to global fame as the host of TV series The Crocodile Hunter from 1992 until 2006.

He took over Australia Zoo in Queensland from his father Bob Irwin in 1992 with wife Terri by his side. The pair expanded the zoo's conservation efforts which continue to this day.

Bindi and Robert were aged eight and two when their father did while filming a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.

Steve tragically died after he was struck in the chest by a stingray barb on September 4, 2006.

Terri continues running Australia Zoo to this day, with Bindi and Robert also joining the family business.

"I remember when I was little and dad had just died, every adult that I saw would say to me: 'Time heals all wounds.' And I remember thinking, as an eight year old: 'What in the heck does that mean?' Why do people keep telling me like, one day I'll forget about this?" she said.

"It actually made me a little bit scared," Bindi said, adding that she now knew "that information is wrong".

"So firstly, don't say that to an eight-year-old. Time changes your grief. Time changes things and your perspective and everything," she continued.

"But I know firsthand that the grief and the sadness and the feeling of loss from losing dad.

"That feeling is just a part of me. It's like a scar on your heart."

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.