Auckland 181217 Part 2

We chose to visit Kelly Tarlton's SEALIFE Aquarium mainly for its penguins, Adik's favourite since watching Mr Popper's Penguins which featured the gentoo. Although both gentoo and king penguins are not NZ's natives, we felt compelled to support this aquarium and its penguins project in preserving these magnificent creatures in the south pole. Had to admit that the entry tickets were pricy but they translates to approximately the same price visiting Aquaria in KLCC. Plus we could not resist being in close proximity to the penguins albeit with a glass screen in between. And I doubt we are patient enough to wait and watch NZ native penguins in the wild AND time was against us too. 

We arrived at the aquarium shortly after 10:30am. The place like the airport, is unassuming, nothing frivolous on the outside, unlike many of what we have back home heh.. Although parking seems limited as highlighted in Tripadvisor, we did not face any difficulty there probably because it was a Monday maybe? There are cute penguin footprints painted in blue leading us to the entrance :D We had our family picture taken shortly after entering the aquarium and immediately greeted by the "moving" bridge thru an "icy" tunnel. Nicely done! We loved it so much that we crossed and went back a few times to experience it again.. jakun much hahaha. Was further delighted to discover that the first exhibit are the penguins! First section is them in the water, then on the ground. The place was designed such that both species share the same place and they are free to move about or just stand still, terbaring telungkup, guard their eggs, slide on ice or jump in and out of the water in groups of friends, I assume hehe. So many penguins doing so many activities at the same time kinda like a penguin village. Could not stop smiling looking at them. They seem to enjoy life more than we do :D altho they are not in their own home. There is even a list of penguins names, birthdays and which couple bore which chick. A few penguins actually "communicated" with us visitors thru the glass, choosing to peer at us as if we are exhibits ourselves and they seem extremely intelligent. Cuteness overload too. I could just stay glued staring at these creatures for hours. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4 visitors may be allowed into the penguins' enclosure with a Penguin Passport but believe me, admiring them behind the glass is very much sufficient for fear of wanting to bring one home hahah. I could go on and on about the penguins all day. And oh they have chicks in the nursery too. 

Adik went back with 2 plush toys of gentoo (mama) penguin and a cute small chick @ baby penguin bought from the souvenir shop. At first, we wanted to make him choose only one but in the end did not have the heart to separate the mommy from the chick. But it was worth it as he adored them so much that he sleeps with them every night, even as we speak now. 

Reluctantly moving on to other exhibits, filling up time till the penguin feeding time in around 30 minutes. Another notable exhibit of a (dead) giant squid. It was found washed ashore at none other than the Farewell Spit in the South Island. It is as big as an adult human. One of those mysterious creatures of the deep sea that you thought are just fiction and imaginations of seamen. Subhanallah, Allah is the knower of all things while we don't except those that He reveal to us. We also saw a solitary octopus in action in its tank, showing off its ability to camouflage into any colour similar to the things in its environment,  mainly a tree bark, seaweed and rocks. It can even turn transparent! The octopus reminded me of the character in Finding Dory. Pixar is very clever in developing that character, playing with the idea of an octopus' extreme camouflaging ability and the possibility that the octo could be lonely. It is a close imitation. Salute on their deep research and ketelitian.We also had our breakfast at the aquarium's cafe - chocolate drinks and muffin. I had spinach and cheese roll ahem no further comment as I am supposed to watch my weight hurmm.. At that point, it crossed my mind that Kak Ngah did not look too good and whether a muffin only breakfast is sufficient for her but I swept those thoughts to the back of my mind .. my mind was too full with penguins 😂 

At 11:30am, the much-anticipated penguin feeding time arrived. A group of staff entered the penguin area with a bucket of fish each, the penguins following close behind. It was quite a sight! I noticed almost all the asians were clicking away their handphone cameras and taking selfies, noisily instructing their kids to pose with the penguins behind. Boh kat social media kalu... Haha typical. The europeans and eurasians meanwhile enjoyed the sight by just watching and explaining to their kids what they were witnessing. A valuable lesson to be learned there, don't you think? ;P  As for me, I am the typical asian tourist but I shall learn and emulate those good examples :) anyway, it was a real treat both for me and the kids getting to view the penguins at close range. 

At 12p,m, we continued with the fish feeding. Shark feeding is not available on Mondays .. too bad. By then I was pretty much disintereted already although Kak Ngah followed the group tofeed lobsters and such. We left shortly after but not before purchasing our photo pack and some stuff for the kids and Kak Long. It was time to go to Sandrigham for our kebab lunch and halal meat supplies. Oh on our way back to the car, we managed to get a good view of the city skyline, which was nicer than the one we had during the misty morning. 

Till the next part then.