Now, I have a confession to make – I like zoos. They bring out the child in me. I also like aquarium. So, with another rainy day in prospect, we headed over to the Vancouver Aquarium situated in Stanley Park. Like most modern aquarium, the Vancouver one is heavily involved in conservation and rescue projects. The focus is mainly on the coastline of British Columbia, the Pacific coast and the Arctic, but you can also find a Tropic Zone, an Amazon rainforest area and other special sections like one for a tiny group of penguins from South Africa.
During our visit, I fell in love with jellyfish, now my favourite sea creature after sea horses and starfish. There were several huge tanks with different types, two shown below.
There were fish galore, frogs such as the little blue ones below, and birds and snakes in the Tropical and Amazon areas. The featured image at the top features a small type of crocodile which we also saw.
The outdoor area has a pool with the cutest otters, swimming around and clearly playing up to the audience. I didn’t get a good picture, but you can see how cute they look from the leaflet guide.
There are also two dolphins, both of which were rescued and deemed unreleasable into the wild due to the likelihood that they would not survive. We watched the display, which we were told is also use to check them out for injuries or sign of sickness. I’m never sure about these things, but the animals are stimulated by these exercises and clearly in this setting, well looked after.
Verdict: I loved it. If it’s the sort of thing you like, then go. It’s full of stuff for children to look at and do too. There is a small cafe and of course a shop should you wish a souvenir.
Thistles and Kiwis 
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