Part 4 of the "Melbourne" series! I think I'm gonna have more than 6 posts for this series - there's just so many pictures!
Today's post will be on the Melbourne Aquarium - a very popular tourist attraction in Melbourne. I went to the Aquarium for the FIRST TIME. Yes - the FIRST TIME. After living in Melbourne for 3 whole years! My friends were pretty shocked. So one of them had to take matters into her own hands and bring me there! And so we did!
Got off at Flinders Street as usual and when I looked up, I caught a glimpse of the impressive ceiling of the building...so out came the camera!
Many many many clocks! Mainly for the metropolitan lines I guess! But of course, regional and rural trains go through Flinders Street station too.
The impressive facade of the station. As we walked down Flinders Street itself, we passed by little shops that were situated in the basement and ground floor of the station itself. One of them was a cafe - La Stazione, or "Station Cafe" if translated literally. Apparently it's been around for a while! Should pop by when I'm back again in November.
The streets of Melbourne - busy as always. This scene was taken right outside the Flinders Street station steps, just as we turned left and walked in the direction of the aquarium.
Walked down Flinders Street. I should admit - Melbourne has really gorgeous buildings. The old ones are elegant and grandiose, with creative designs and gargoyles; the newer ones are edgy and high-class. Its like a mixture of old and new, all put nicely together.
Another note to self - when I come back, I should attempt to take as many pictures of these buildings...and classify them into an architectural-based post or something! I really love the old buildings!
Oh - and note that we're still walking alongside Flinders Street station. It's BIG.
Finally reached the banks of the Yarra River, where we could see some of the tallest skyscrapers in Melbourne. We also had good views of the Melbourne CBD from the aquarium itself.
And as we were walking under one of the bridges, we saw this cute kitty graffiti. So I couldn't resist!
And we finally reached the aquarium!! Bought tickets...
And first up - penguins. Some of them were just standing up and sleeping, others were swimming happily away. The swimmers were really impressive! They were so fast that it was really difficult to take pics of them. This place is known as the Penguin Passport area.
Threadfin trevally fish. They're really sleek and beautiful! And because they're silver, each time they swim, they change colour. Pretty cool!
Cute little yellow seahorse munching on some corals. Its other counterparts were hiding somewhere.
Also spotted a leafy sea dragon drifting along in the aquarium. It looks so fragile...yet so elegant. The protrusions ("leaves") are meant purely for camouflage.
Apart from these smaller aquariums, there was also an a new Rainforest Exhibit, showcasing other animals, such as stick insects, cockroaches and even frogs. There were some spiders on display too.
"Sucker fish". These fish love eating algae and hence many people keep them in their fishtanks - a good way to ensure that fishtanks are clean! They'll just cling to the glass and suck up all the algae.
A Brighton Beach inspired pool with black-and-silver fish swimming inside. We could crawl under and look upwards, as though our heads were submerged underwater. And that allowed us to see the fish swimming past us at eye level. Pretty cool!
Perhaps the main attraction of Melbourne Aquarium is the Oceanarium, which houses SHARKS!! And many different species of fishes. And some stingray. People are actually allowed to dive into the Oceanarium to swim with the sharks...but believe me, they probably are harmless.
The Oceanarium is pretty impressive. It's up close and personal. And this is probably the closest we'd ever get to those sharks...separated by thick glass of course.
Since there were lots of people around, I decided to create some effects using their silhouettes. It turned out as if they were in front of a giant TV screen. I quite like it!
Passed through a glass tunnel (also part of the Oceanarium), and I spotted this massive ray swimming above our heads...plus divers standing over the edge. They had just finished a demonstration in the Oceanarium. I'm pretty awed by the sheer size of the ray...believe me, it's way bigger than what you see in the pic below. And it was so graceful and elegant!
I've fed stingrays before, in Sentosa. Just place some food in between your fingers and wait for them to swim up. They're really friendly, and would just suck the food from your hands. It feels like a slobbery kiss on the fingers...pretty cool!
We ended up at the jellyfish exhibits...after going through the glass tunnel. One of them (third picture) looked as if it was dancing for me! How cool! Add a smiley face and we're good to go :)
Also saw some really impressive sea anemones, plus a few clownfish. FINDING NEMO!!
Went through the souvenir shop where I bought a cute, grey stingray soft toy. Another soft toy to add onto my collection! And then we made our way slowly back to Flinders Street station.
There were many pigeons on the tram wires...and I was praying hard that they wouldn't poop on me. I was really fortunate - none pooped on me!
Travelled down Elizabeth Street...back to my old residential hall to see Aggie! I know there're lots of pics of my Aggie in the previous post...but I decided to put up more pics of her because she's so cute :) I miss her!
Weather wasn't too good - it had been raining and the temperatures were barely above 13 degrees Celsius. But we were greeted with a lovely rainbow and wonderful orange hues just as the sun set and the skies cleared...
And we headed off to Lygon Street (my favourite Italian food street in Melbourne) for some pasta, before going to the famous Eureka Tower - the tallest building in Melbourne!
And that's what I'll cover in my next post - pics of the Eureka Tower and a gorgeous night view of Melbourne. Do stay tuned!