Meet the Dugongs

Today we went back into Sydney to visit the Aquarium. We had decided to visit the aquarium on our first visit to the city six weeks ago and we were hoping to get up close to some of the tropical fish and sea mammals found in the surrounding Australian waters. In true Chris and Andrea style we had even managed to find a 20% off entrance fee discount voucher on the internet so were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.

It turned out to be a great day to do an indoorsy type activity as the Australian summer seems to be hitting full swing. Air conditioning was a great invention. It was very hot today and the metro train on the way in was stifling. Maybe there is hope of getting a lovely tan after all?!?!

The Aquarium more than lived up to our expectations as we were there for a few hours and saw a huge variety of fish and sea creatures - from crocodiles and sharks to sea horses and Finding Nemo fish! One of our favourite species was the Dugongs, which are largish dolphiny-whale type creatures closely related to elephants who can eat up to 10% of their body weight in lettuce every day. A few of the tanks had underwater viewing decks, where there were tunnels running through the tanks enabling you to see the sharks and other fish swimming over you. At some points they were literally inches from you so I was thankful for the layer of glass in-between! The turtles and stingrays also proved popular favourites and Chris got plenty of opportunity to practice his photography skills - unfortunately our camera is not high tech enough to be able to cope with the lighting of the aquarium but he did manage to get a few good shots.




The same 'little penguins' we saw at Philip Island - What are they all looking at??


Dugongs!!