The Sydney Aquarium
If you plan to visit Sydney, Australia, in the near future, add a stop at the Sydney Aquarium to your list of things to do. If you are staying in the city, the Aquarium is located within walking distance. Or you can easily take the train, monorail, or bus to reach this accessible destination. A downloadable map is available on the Website. The Aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve when it closes at 6 p.m. Seal, penguin, shark, and other marine animals are fed live daily twice, one sometime between 9 and 11 a.m. and the other time between 3 and 3:15 p.m. Visitors are welcome to watch the feedings from a safe observation point. The Aquarium’s goal is to provide education about the rivers and oceans of Australia and to teach conservation tips for managing and protecting these natural resources. The Murray Darling River System is one of the most extensive in the world. In the western part of the country several rivers interconnect to weave a tapestry across more than one million square kilometers and 30,000 wetlands. The region supports just 28 species of fish that are unique to their habitat, meaning they are not found elsewhere in the world. The platypus likewise enjoys a home here despite the harsh and sometimes unpredictable weather and climate conditions. The aquarium also provides information about Australia’s tropical northern river system, which is subject to monsoons from November through April and is dry the rest of the year. As a specimen of this region, the giant cuttlefish, largest of its kind in the world and fairly intelligent,