Two Oceans Aquarium

Here's a post I've been meaning to put up forever -- I keep taking too many pictures and it takes forever to sort through them!

Anyhoo, Nikki (Norman's daughter) and I went to the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town a few weeks back -- and oh my, it is amazing!

Wonderful display areas, huge tanks, live feedings, a wide variety of specimens (including sharks) and all these really cool quotes and poems on the tanks that remind you of the beauty and importance of water and all marine wildlife.

Here's what one of the display reads -- which better explains the importance of preserving and protecting South Africa's oceans than I ever could:

"The warm (Indian) and cold (Atlantic) oceans off southern Africa are home to more than 2,500 known species of fishes (almost 16% of all the known marine fish species in the world).  This rich diversity is due to the variety of habitats in this region, ranging from estuaries, mud flats and sandy beaches; rocky shores, coral reefs and kelp beds to ocean depths of more than 5000 metres.  About 16% or our coastal fishes are endemic to this region -- this means that they are only found off southern Africa and nowhere else in the world!  We are proud of them!"

Like in my Kirstenbosch post (oh, and yes, I am still meaning to do a few more posts about it ... at some point!) I don't have the names for everything, but I thought you might enjoy the pictures anyway!

   

Here I am, amid hundreds of clown fish, more commonly known as "Little Nemos."  By the way, this was clearly a display meant for the kiddies, but did I care?  Nope.  Shoved the little brats aside with my elbows is what I did.  I jest, I jest. Kinda.