The Reefworld Aquarium

During our trip to Hervey Bay we actually managed to stumble upon the Reefworld Aquarium by accident as we walked down the beach from our hotel. The building, as we approached it along the beach was not pretty. It’s a kind of brown colour with the word restaurant written across its side in huge black letters.

In fact, it was only as we walked up past its side to leave the beach and get back onto the path back to our hotel that we realised that there was actually more to the place. It was late afternoon when we arrived so the lady behind the counter decided to charge us $15 each rather than the full price because all of the feeding shows etc had already finished.  This suited us as too be honest we’ve seen that kind of thing before. It also meant that the place was empty except for us so we could have a good look around and could ask questions about the displays without anyone getting in the way.

The aquarium viewing room is made up of a circular walkway with one large tank in the middle and several smaller ones around the outside. The tanks all contain local species of fish and corral which were collected from the nearby ocean as the owners have one of the few licenses that allow for the collection of live corrals and fish.

Some of the highlights of this part of the exhibition for us were the Painted Crayfish, the giant 50kg Grouper, the little Clown Fish and a large display of the different species of dried corral that you can touch and feel. Our daughter especially liked this display. Sadly, as we weren’t expecting to visit the aquarium I only had a little point and shoot camera with me, still I think we managed to get some good shots.

After we finished looking inside we then made our way out to the touch tanks where there is a selection of harmless sea creatures in a shallow pond so that you can see what they feel like. In case you were wondering, sea cucumbers actually feel quite leathery. After that we moved outside to the big tanks where the sharks and big turtles live. Again you can reach in and touch them if they swim close enough but there are big signs up warning that they all bite.

All in all it was a good fun way to spend the afternoon and even a little educational for the kids.

Address: On The Beach front, Corner of Pulgul Street & Dayman Park, Hervey Bay
Phone: (07) 41289828
Web: www.waterfrontrestaurant.info

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