It’s been about 15 years since I visited Sea Life Aquarium in Sydney… and my younger two children have never been.. so when I was approached wtih the chance to visit, I jumped at the chance.

Please note I was gifted with tickets to Sea Life Aquarium Sydney but all opinions are my own

I expected changes and I was right! The Sea Life Aquarium has grown to be a premier tourist spot in Darling Harbour, which is defientely worth a visit.

As we were walking up to the entrance my son commented on how small it looked from the outside, but the site was deceiving… walking through the front we were presented right from the start a cavernous space in which every spot you looked was filled with many types of Sea life.

One of the beauties of this Aquarium is that it is a one way path, there really isn’t much deviantion, so it has the added bonus of that you cannot miss anything… and even though they give you a map at the beginning, you don’t really need it. As the path moved along it came to one of 12 sections each with a different focus on Sea Life.I loved this idea as it gave the kids a bit of free range to explore on their own before we all moved along the path to see what the next section had to offer.

With plenty of hands on experiences for the kids they were off exploring, and not only learning about the numerous types of Sea Life that is present in our oceans but also how we can look after all the creatures in this time of climate change. The exhibit on how the Sea life trust is supporting Beluga whales really touch my daughters heart and she couldn’t help but make a donation to the cause.

One of the sections I remember vividly from 15 years ago is the tunnels, and I was very pleased to see them still there. Entering the tunnel you are immersed into the world of the deep blue sea, the sea animals surround you from all angles. The look of awe, ( even on the 12year old!) , as they watched the Sting rays and Sharks float beside, above and coming right up beside them was priceless. They spotted all the tropical fish from the Finding Nemo movies and many more fish that we didn’t recognise!

During the day there is scheduled talks for the Marine Biologists about the varying Sea Creatures they have at Sea Life Sydney. Unfortunately we weren’t there during the talks but happened to be in the right spot as they ran through a training session with their Dugong named Pig! The training session aimed to desensitize the Dugong to human touch and interaction so that in the future they can perform medical checks when needed.. it was an awesome insight into how and why the marine biologists do what they do.

I have to say the highlight of my visit was the Penguins! After waiting in line for a relativly short time we boarded a boat to take a journey through the middle of the Penguin Exhibition! We saw King and Gento Peguins while we floated on by. The whole journey was only about 2 mins and it was 6 degrees in there.. but it was definitely worth the effort to see them up close.

And what was the kids favourite parts of Sea Life Sydney Aquarium?

Jay: “Learning about the all the Marine Animals”

Ivy: “Getting up close to the two most dangerous fish .. The Puffer and Red lion fish”

Overall we had a great couple of hours at Sea Life and would highly recommend it as part of your travels to Sydney!

What: Sea Life Sydney Aquarium

Where: The City Side of Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia

How Much: Tickets start at $36.80 for adults (online) and $26.40 for children (online) if you are planning on visiting a few attractions while in Sydney make sure you check out the Merlin pass which starts at $55 per adult and $39 for kids. All the details are on their website.

Need to know: Sea life is right on the water at Darling Harbour and is very accessible by public transport, Check out the timetable online before going if you don’t want miss out on the talks (like we did!), there is added experiences like feeding the fish and diving with the sharks for extra cost, accessible for wheel chairs and prams, we took our own snacks and lunch but they do have a cafe at the end if you want something to eat, be prepared for lots of people and be patient and courteous!!!

Have you been to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium?

What was your favourite part?

Safe Travels

Kerrie

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