Did you know – or more like “can
you believe it?” – the Two Oceans
Aquarium opened in 1995?
Goodness, time does fly. In light of
this you can be forgiven for subscribing
to the “been there, done that”
school of thought but that would be
your big mistake.
Not only is the aquarium a wonderful
place to visit again and again,
but there is always something new to
do and see. We’ve already dived with
the sharks in the predator tank, zoned
out to the rhythmic swaying of the
kelp forest, and stuck our heads
inside the Nemo tank. So what now?
Okay, how about getting up close
and personal with some Rockhopper
penguins? These adorably cute little
birds with their distinctive spikey yellow
tufts of feathers on their heads
are not from around here, but because
they come from the wilds of the sub-
Antarctic where they generally venture
far from the mainland and have
little or no experience of humans,
they are naturally friendly and
amenable, says head bird trainer Hayley
McLellan.
Sadly, this is their downfall and
partly how they wash up on our
beaches, a long way from home. Sometimes
it’s ocean currents that sweep
them off course, but more often than
not it’s deep-sea fishermen on
trawlers who catch them and keep
them on board as pets or as food.
When the trawlers enter South
African waters, the crew know it’s
illegal to have these birds on board so
they just toss them and this is where
they end up, battered and abused.
The seven living at Two Oceans
are the lucky ones, nursed back to
health and waiting to meet you.
The Penguin Encounter takes
place every Wednesday (in season)
and Saturday at 11am in the outside
area where the seals used to frolic.
They’ve been relocated to Sea World
in Durban. Guests are asked to arrive
at the front desk 15 minutes beforehand,
and McLellan points out that
the encounter will depend on what
the birds want to offer.
“They spend about 75 percent of
their time in the water so there’s a
good possibility guests will be able to
swim with them. But if not, we will sit
with the penguins and I will talk
about them and answer any questions,”
she says.
Touching is not allowed, but being
the sociable birds they are, they are
very likely to hop up on your lap. I had
a very special encounter with the penguins
this week in their enclosure in
the Sappi River Meander inside the
aquarium when McLellan lifted the
one they call Hopper on to my lap. He
immediately started vibrating alarmingly
from head to toe. “Oh don’t
worry,” laughed McLellan, “he’s just a
little ‘excited’.” Well, it’s not every day
you get to say you are attractive to a
bachelor penguin.
Living with the Rockhoppers is
Ivan, the beautiful King penguin. Ivan
is a she, and her mate (male) was
Jenny, now deceased. You’ll find that
many of the penguins at the aquarium
are named this way and that’s
because the only way to tell a penguin’s
gender is through DNA testing.
You cannot turn them upside down
and look, so naming the hatchlings is
clearly a bit of a hit and miss affair.
The Penguin Encounter lasts 30
minutes, after which McLellan will
take two guests with her to assist with
the daily records while she feeds the
birds. They eat fast so it only takes
about 10 minutes, which means you
can hoof it back up to the River
Meander for the feeding of the
African penguins at 11.45am.
An encounter costs R350 for adults
and R300 for children (although it’s
not recommended for under-eights),
of which R100 is donated to the
African Penguin Fund. “It’s interesting
that these Rockhoppers, which are
not from here, are helping to raise
awareness of the local African penguins’
plight,” says McLellan. “They
are endemic and endangered. A hundred
years ago there were 1.5 million,
now there are only 60 000.” Bookings
must be made at least one day in
advance. The cost includes entrance
to the entire aquarium so once you
are done with the penguins, you can
wander around all the other exhibits.
There’s an interesting new-ish one
of all the horrid plastic pollution that
is murdering our marine life which
ties in nicely with the imminent
arrival of Pangea Exploration’s expedition
sailing vessel, the Sea Dragon.
The crew are completing the first
trans-Atlantic Ocean plastic-pollution
research trip in the southern hemisphere,
a voyage that will cover
5 391km of ocean.
She’s been fighting strong winds
for the past couple of days but hopefully
she should be docked alongside
the aquarium by now, and tomorrow
between 2pm and 8pm you can go on
board, meet the crew and find out
more about their work. It really is an
important issue, so do try to make the
time for a presentation at 1pm tomorrow
in which co-founders of the 5
Gyres Institute, Anna Cummins and
Marcus Eriksen, share their research
findings and tell you more about the
enormity of the plastic problem in
the oceans, the techniques used to
trawl plastic from the oceans and
what it is like to live at sea.
They will reveal about 50 samples
of micro-plastics that they’ve collected
en route, as well as various
macro-debris including crates, fishing
floats, buckets and bottles. It’s scary
stuff, I tell you.
Other interesting stuff happening
at the aquarium this month include
the launch of the newly constructed
Sappi Seal Platform in the adjacent
yacht marina, the opportunity to
enjoy a Christmas lunch in the kelp
forest (well, not inside it, but you get
the idea) and loads of fun activities
for children in the AfriSam Children’s
Centre.
Entrance to the aquarium costs
R96 for adults and R74 for children 14
to 17, SA pensioners and students
(proof required), and R46 for children
four to 13. Children under four get in
free. Two things: booking online is
cheaper, and for just R270 (adults) or
R175/R110 for children you can
become a Sole Mate and visit as many
times a year as you like. You don’t
need to be a rocket scientist to work
out what a good deal that is.
. For enquires, contact Visitor Services
at 021 418 3823, e-mail
info@aquarium or go to www.aquarium.
co.za. Opening hours are extended
during the holiday season – 9am till
8pm from December 16 to January 9,
including public holidays (6pm on
December 25).