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Published: February 2nd 2011
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Today, having finally realized that I was at the ocean, I did what I'd usually do there and got up to watch the sunrise. There was a belt of cloud on the horizon, so I did not actually get to see the sun rise out of the sea, but the cloud colors were striking and it made a good start to the day.
At 9 a.m., I walked down the seaside path in the other direction, away from the historic Art Deco district. The first place I encountered was Marineland of New Zealand. I had, actually, seen and investigated Marineland a couple of days ago; it's right across the street, diagonally, from the YHA.
Marineland was closed indefinitely to the public in 2008. New Zealand's Department of Conservation objected to the keeping of dolphins in captivity.
Since then, the animals have been cared for but have not been on view. The Marineland website says that plans are in the works to move some of them to the nearby National Aquarium of New Zealand.
Marineland was surrounded by a high wooden fence, but behind it you could hear seals barking. I joined several other people in peeking through knotholes.
Through one, you could see two grown seals swimming in circles in a tub, leaping out of the water and then back in. On my previous visit, I had also seen a manatee sleeping placidly.
Between Marineland and the National Aquarium was a Millennium Arch, which marked the exact rising point of the sun "at the start of the Third Millennium." There was no indication of whether they'd gotten it right, and taken their measurements on Jan. 1, 2001, or whether it had been placed in 2000.
The National Aquarium was a remarkable place, well worth the $17.40 NZ admission. Their star exhibit was a huge, spherical salt-water tank with a semi-circular, transparent tunnel running through it. People could walk through the tunnel and look up at fish swimming above them, as well as at the fish surrounding them on all sides. It was probably the closest I'll ever get to scuba diving.
The tunnel was actually equipped with a people-mover, but it was not moving. Perhaps it is only activated for large groups.
The ground floor was devoted to native creatures. Besides the huge salt-water tank, a large conventional tank simulated a coral reef. I
visited at feeding-time for this reef, and a diver was sent into the tank to hand-feed the fish. That made it clear just how big the tank was; he looked quite small inside it.
His performance, which lasted a half-hour, was entertaining, but I thought he hammed it up a bit much. I would have preferred to spend my time watching the fish, rather than, say, watching the diver turning underwater somersaults or pretending to attack a member of the crowd of onlookers with an anchor.
Another part of the ground floor contained freshwater fish exhibits. Most of these were in comparatively small tanks, though still quite large by normal standards, but there was an enormous pond exhibit, with integrated two-story waterfall. In this area, they also had a giant sea turtle, which seemed a little too big for its tank, large and roomy though the tank was. A sign said that it had been the size of a dinner plate when it was brought to the aquarium in 1990, so I think it may be outgrowing its quarters. It had room to swim laps across four different viewing areas, each large enough for several people to watch
Drain decor
The logo says, "Poison the sea; poison me." it, but its tank was rectangular and the width did not seem quite adequate for it. Of course it still fit in the tank, but it seemed a bit cramped. I was sorry for it.
To my surprise, the ground floor also contained a kiwi house, artificially darkened to persuade the nocturnal kiwis to come out. To my delight, I saw two of them. I had begun to think I would leave New Zealand without ever seeing its national bird.
Flash photography was not allowed, and the pictures I took were so dark that I won't try to reproduce them here.
The kiwis bobbed and bumbled about almost as clumsily as the takahe. They are strange birds, always bending forwards, and looking stoop-shouldered and nearsighted, though I have no idea whether they really are. I felt a certain sense of kinship with them. My kind of bird.
The aquarium also had some tuataras, a rare New Zealand lizard. The tuataras had a very large enclosure, and I am proud to say that I was the first of several people to spot one of them. It was a "Purloined Letter" situation; the tuatara was sitting in a corner,
very close to the glass.
Upstairs, on the floor from which the waterfall came, there were smaller exhibits in normal-sized tanks. The theme was "Fish of the World." I was particularly interested in the Asian fish, since they are the ones which are found in the video game "Animal Crossing."
But my favorite fish of all was the pacu, a South American fish. In adulthood it is huge, and it is a frugivore, eating fruits which fall into the water (presumably a common occurrence in the Amazon). Its great size presumably protects it from predators, but its juveniles are protected by cleverer means. They look exactly like little piranhas, and, in fact, they even school with young piranhas until they outgrow them.
After lunch, I decided to go to the bus station, since I hadn't walked from the station to the YHA. I needed to get an idea of how far it was and how long it would take me to walk it tomorrow.
I was pleased to learn that Napier's Intercity bus stop is beside the Napier Public Library. I couldn't resist wandering into the library for a few minutes. I even looked longingly at
a "Book Sale" truck, but fortunately I saw nothing I really wanted. They had a cardboard dragon at the children's circulation desk, and an artist's conception of the earthquake in the main part of the library.
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