The Townsville Aquarium

We’ve skipped visiting aquariums until Townsville since we’d heard that this was a good one.  The Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium.  There’s a lot to see with talks scheduled throughout the day.  We were able to attend several of the talks and learn about all these fascinating sea creatures.  Of course, when you see an old diving helmet begging to be worn you must try it on… So much to see at this aquarium!  There were large tanks where you could admire the coral and all the sea creatures. Nemo was there hiding in his sea anemone home. The caravan park we stayed at on the Gold Coast had a large tank that had several of these blue starfish.  We loved them and would look for them every time we walked by.  They are such a striking blue.  And look at all the different types of coral! There were interactive displays where you could learn about the different sea creatures, or you could just stare at the tanks for ages and soak up all the gorgeous colours. This purple and orange fish is called a royal dottyback.  What a name! I loved the pattern on this angelfish.  Apparently it’s a juvenile and the pattern will change as it matures. There was a ‘river’ tank as well, with freshwater fish and turtles. We admired the different types of coral, they can grow into such different shapes! We marvelled over all the creatures in the smaller tanks.  These sea urchins were huge!  Also in this room was a large tank with a small crocodile that we got to watch them feed.  He could jump so high!  I thought I had a picture but it’s disappeared.  JitterBug especially loved that croc. These jellyfish look like they are inside out or upside down. Ummm, teeth?  No thanks. Then we made our way to the large tank.  One of those that forms a tunnel you can walk through.  There was a sea turtle on one side, we found out later that he had been rehabilitated at the aquarium and would soon be returning to the ocean. The poor turtle had buddies that would cling underneath him when he swam.  We saw him bringing his flippers together underneath him to try to shake them off. I thought I had pictures of the sharks but this is the only one I can find, not such a good pic.  But it’s proof there were sharks in the tank! The super big fish are always so amazing to see! Awwww…. These fish always look like they are smiling!  There were divers in this tank filming a video.  Those orange and black fish crowded around them the whole time they were in the tank. We even saw some mermaids! More to come!