The Aquarium

Our first big jump into New Zealand tourism was a trip to the local aquarium, Kelly Tarlton's. Mary-Ellen and I had visited it before, much earlier in the year and were excited to share the experience with the family. So, jet-lagged and full of excitement, we packed into the cars and headed to the Mission Bay area. The weather was far from ideal for sightseeing, but none-the-less we did manage to come across a traditional Maori sailing vessel, known as a Waka, hauled up on the beach. The beautiful vessel was adorned with paintings and carvings that echoed to a time when these vessels were used for long ocean journeys.

Once into the small aquarium, there was much to enjoy, and it is always fun seeing it through someone else's eyes. The resident penguins had the whole family captivated for quite a while as they swam past windows, waddled around their enclosure and fed small chicks hiding in the corners.

A personal favourite of mine, the rays, were large as life wandering around their enormous tank with their 1.5 metre wingspan.

One of the major highlights was of course the large tube and conveyor belt walkway. While standing on the moving floor, we were transported through two large aquaria, that ran around us creating a tube. Ancient looking sharks and majestic eagle rays swam around us as we journeyed through. Dad of course had a blast taking pictures of the numerous creatures that swam by.

One of Mom's favourites was the sea horse exhibit, which although hard to compare to the breeding facility she went to in Florida, was still an amazing viewing of some rather unusual and interesting variations on the sea horse body form.

Tired and ready for a nap, we concluded our first real adventure in New Zealand, returning home for some well deserved supper and to look through the pictures we took. It was clear at this point that the family would be in for a long presentation when Dad got home, showing off this and the many more adventures we would have on their visit!