Down Under, Down Under

It was at once a scuba diver's dream and nightmare. The shark was a mere two meters (six feet) away. Over my head the evil looking barb on a long-tailed stingray flicked menacingly. I reached for the button to inflate my buoyancy compensator and grabbed ... my pen!
Such is the realism of Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in Auckland, Sikkens stain New Zealand.
Kelly Tarlton created his underwater world in Auckland's disused stormwater holding tanks and sadly lived only seven weeks after his dream opened in January 1985. As the world's largest fish aquarium viewed from the world's longest underwater acrylic tunnels it is now Auckland's premier tourist attraction.

Before touring the aquarium it is advisable to watch the 12-minute audio-visual show in the theatre. Here you will learn about Kelly Tarlton's shipwreck explorations and how he and a team of volunteers went about building Underwater World.
A moving walkway will then transport you through a 111-meter (365 feet) clear acrylic tunnel. You will be surrounded by over 1500 fish of 40 different species and more than 50 sharks and stingrays. The refractive index of the acrylic and water makes the fish appear approximately 30% smaller than they really are. Nearly four million liters of water are circulated every two hours with 10% fresh seawater being added each day.
Auckland, with a population of 1.3 million people, is home to one third of New Zealanders. It is the country's industrial and commercial center and the entry point for most overseas visitors.
One other attraction not to miss while in Auckland is Heritage Park, a 12-hectare (30 acres) theme park that is a microcosm of Kiwi culture.
Divided into three "worlds": Natureworld, Agriworld and Cultureworld, each theme is dramatized with a variety of displays.
Heritage Park is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Auckland.

Bruce Burnett, has won four Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards for travel journalism. Read more of Bruce Burnett's writing on his websites:

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