A visit to AQWA!

Yesterday we visited the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA)... AQWA is an underwater journey along the 12,000km of the Western Australian coastline - from the icy waters of the southern ocean, to the tropical wonderland of the coral reefs in the far north.

We decided that Ethan would be able to appreciate the sights more from the backpack rather than the stroller, plus I figured it would be easier to navigate through crowds of people. Check out the two cool dudes!
In previous blogs I have mentioned that Ethan is a really tactile person, he loves touching, stoking, scratching and feeling different things and textures. As well as this Ethan is also a really visual person, he just looks and looks at things, taking in the world and all its wonders.

Our choice of activity was a visual feast for Ethan! He just stared open mouthed at all the fish, coral and lights on display!
Part of the aquarium was a moving walkway through a tunnel with lots of fish (including sharks , massive turtles and stingrays) swimming around us. I wouldn't like this to be swimming towards me in the open water!!
I have come across a number of jelly fish while swimming in Wellington Harbour, at the beach in Perth and in the Swan River. However, they never seem as beautiful when swimming in them as they look here!
The coral and fish continued to enthrall all of us: Gran, Grandad, Jason, Ethan and I.
There were spotty fish and stripey fish!
And amazing living coral to marvel at.
More coral...
An amazing palette of colours!
There were ugly fish...
And pretty fish!
There was a touch pool, unfortunately Ethan is a little young to touch the fish this trip, but he sure was still interested in what was in it!
After a visit to the gift shop (and a number of tempting items on display) we decided to head to Hillarys Boat Harbour for a quick dip in the water.

Being a mum involves remembering lots of things and I am yet to have the perfect trip! This time I remembered spare clothes, nappies, wipes, a wet flannel, food (a big variety- fruit, cheese a sandwich and a rusk), water, the back pack, and the stroller.... but I forgot the sunscreen and a hat! Given it was 30 degrees and clear skies I needed to at least get a hast for Ethan. Here he is in his new cammo hat! Grandad definitely approved!
We took Ethan down to dip his feet in the water and before we knew it he was in the water in all his clothes!
So the visit to AQWA and the Boat harbour was a hit... and a lovely day was had by all!