In the first part, we marvelled at the agility of the otters, sea lions dolphins and a porpoise. The ease with which they played in the water was incredible.
Along the way were also lots of tanks of smaller fish, from different parts of the world. I must say, the fish from the Great Barrier Reef were by far the most beautiful, but there were some pretty interesting ones around.
The star attraction is a whale shark, swimming in a large central tank, with a number of smaller sharks, rays and fish. The shark was an amazing gentle giant, but like most of the creatures we saw, refused to pose for a photo sufficiently close to the glass. In the same tank was an odd pair, a small-ish fish, and a ray. The whole time we were watching the tank, the fish remained perched on the ray's back as it explored the tank. There was also an incredibly weird fish that swam by moving its dorsal and anal fins.
The jellyfish section was fantastic. They were so cool. Many of them were stuck to the glass and just sat there, pulsating. There was a big one in one tank, with several meters worth of tentacles. The wonderful English information sign read "... If they touch you, you will hurt." Good to know!
Eventually, we reached what we thought was the end of the aquarium. I put on a bit of a show about "how can they have a whole aquarium without a Nemo?". Then we discovered the Cawaii Collection, a separate area containing mini displays with an emphasis on a cuteness factor. Here was a Nemo (ok, Clownfish), little seahorses, and all sorts of other fantastical critters.
We also had an opportunity to touch some small sharks and rays. Both were a surprise. I think I expected the shark to feel like a fish, but it was actually rough, and sandpapery. Meanwhile, the rays were incredible, they felt like soft slippery velvet.
With that, our tour of the aquarium was complete, and we stepped out of the incredibly cold air-conditioning, and back into the blistering heat outside. The snow machine was no longer in operation
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