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Victoria Melbourne Aquarium Botanical Gardens Puffing Billy Phillip Island Great Ocean Walk Day 1 - Koala day Day 2 - shoreline sights Day 3 - up and down Day 4 - to the Apostels Day 5 - finishing up Wilsons Prom Short walk Daywalk Overnight hike The burned gum trees Tree fern jungle Sealers cove over the ridge at the camp ground Tasmania General Marsupials Birds More animals Trees |
As an old friend of watery matters, I of course had to visit the Melbourne Aquarium. After the impressive ticket price I expected a lot, but was disappointed. Yes, there is a cooled area for the King penguins, but it looked worn and ready for the next refit. The tanks were mainly good, but when I thought I was half through I already had reached the end of the walk. I went back to see for a room or walk I may had skipped, but found nothing. So I am very sorry to say it cannot compete with the Sydney Aquarium or any other Aquarium with such a ticket price. Still, there were sights I enjoyed. First of all, the seadragons are impressive. Visibly relatives of the seahorses, they manage to look even stranger. The weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) still looks like an animal, but the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is a living miracle. Pretending to be a piece of seaweed, this some 30 cm long fish moves through the water nearly without visible moves, just going with swell and current. Still, it does not! It moves calm, but steadyly towards any desired direction. It took me a while to realize all that leafy stuff around it's body is only decoration, it's not fins. The fins are perfectly transparent, nearly unvisible and constantly busy. This possibly stranges of all fishes is much fitter than it looks! Another impressive - but not yet fully grown - inmate was a Giant octopus I haven't seen before. |