Staying Underwater

Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium houses thousands of marine animals from hundreds of species, including sharks, penguins, turtles, stingrays, seahorses, fish, jellyfish and more. It is also home to the largest Sub-Antarctic penguin colony in the Southern Hemisphere and is New Zealand’s only Turtle Rescue Centre. The reconstruction of the hut built in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 to the South Pole led by Robert Falcon Scott was fascinating.

Kelly Tarlton was a diver, inventor, conservationist and entrepreneur who created the aquarium out of unused sewage tanks. He pioneered the use of curved acrylic tunnels that enable visitors to view sea creatures and their habitats from beneath in 1984 – a practice now seen all around the world. Sadly, Kelly died, age 47, only a few weeks after the very successful opening of the aquarium.

We woke to a particularly wet morning, and decided an indoor activity was definitely on order. In fact, Kelly Tarleton’s is not only indoors but entirely underground (or underwater), so it was the perfect choice!