Wednesday, April 4

What a difference a day makes! When it rains here, it really RAINS!! This morning, we were treated to a true tropical rainstorm that dropped a whopping 4 inches of rain in an hour, and was responsible for malted milk ball sized hail out near the ocean beaches. I don’t know if the photograph will do it justice, but here’s what it looked like from our deck, looking over the garden of the apartment.

Given the weather, we decided it would be a good day to visit the aquarium, which has been on our tourist list of “things to do” for the last 4 years. It didn’t disappoint. One of the most impressive displays was the seal/sea lion enclosure, which consisted of an outdoor enclosed pool (HUGE) into which was a submerged tube through which patrons walk. It’s a remarkable experience, as the feeling is of being in the water, since there is water all around and above you as you walk through. The animals were playful, and spent most of their time, trying to entice their audience with underwater spins and upside-down swimming antics. The shark enclosure was structured in the same manner, but even larger. There were LOTS of sharks – the biggest of which were the grey nurse sharks at about 4-5 meters long. They are said to be quite harmless to humans, but they look menacing – and a bit like a great white. (By the way, the fish that looks like he’s ingesting a large screw is actually eating a shark egg.)

Other highlights were the Great Barrier Reef displays, of which there were many. I’m always mesmerized by tropical fish, and could watch them for hours. Look closely – can you find Nemo?