To see what creatures we are now sharing our waters with in Australia we took a trip to AQWA, the Aquarium of Western Australia, with our friends over at The Wombat Chase. AQWA covers an impressive 12,000 kms of Western Australia’s coastline from the great southern coast up to the far north. Coming from the safe waters of the Bailiwick of Guernsey it was a real experience to see some of the deadly sea life lurking in the depths here in Australia. Although now I’m not so sure I wanted to know what is out there!
And what’s more you can really see the differing species as the cold shark infested waters of the south turn into warm salt water crocodile infested waters up north. I don’t know what is worse.
The best feature of the aquarium has to be the revolving underwater tunnel. We explored the biggest underwater tunnel in Australia and walked beneath sharks, giant stingrays and a turtle from the ‘great southern coast’.
The impressive AQWA tunnel
Moving through to the ‘Perth coast’ section the pulsing jellyfish were entrancing lit up in a cylindrical enclosure. Entrancing and deadly!
Entrancing jellies
The ‘danger zone’ was an eye opening display. This is, of course, Australia where everything can and will kill you, even the cute-looking cone snails that poison and devour their unsuspecting prey. Also menacingly lurking were snakes, stonefish and the seriously beautiful and venomous lion fish.
There is even a touch pool where you can stick your hands in and interact with the sea life (the none life-threatening kind). And by this I mean children picking up starfish and poking the catfish. We obviously had a go but I’m not too sure how ethical this is.
Checking out the rays
If you are feeling brave you can jump in with the 4 meter sharks, stingrays and turtles and snorkel around the tank. Or if that is a little too scary you can do a reef-walk among the corals for just $15. We sat this one out as our crazy Bavarian friends attempted a shark cage dive in South Australia with Great Whites so this was tame by comparison (read about it here)!
AQWA with The Wombat Chase
Located at Hilarys Boat Harbour, there is plenty to explore around the aquarium too. We enjoyed a spot of lunch by the harbour and a few free ice cream samples.
We had an awesome and educational day and would highly recommend a visit to the aquarium. Although you won’t catch me in the ocean anymore!
Open daily from 10am to 5pm costing $30 per person. Visit their website for more info.
What did you think of my guide to AQWA? Are you planning a visit to Western Australia or have you visited recently? If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, please comment below.