In recent headlines a new study has revealed that over half of all sea turtles have ingested plastic.  Before we went to the turtle hospital they gave a talk about sea turtles.  They said that the turtles (and other marine life) have been able to eat anything they find in the oceans for thousands of centuries.  The sea turtles, of course, don’t realise anything has changed and so when they see some brightly coloured object floating in the water they don’t realise it is something that could harm them.  That, together with the other recent news of the decline of all marine life over the last several decades makes for a very sad state of our ocean life.  The turtle hospital at the Reef HQ Aquarium does their part by educating people and rehabilitating sea turtles.  All of the sea turtles found in the Great Barrier Reef are threatened species.  We were lucky to have a chance to visit the hospital while we were in Townsville. They had half a dozen or so large tanks set up with rescued turtles in them.  Many of them had what’s known as ‘floating syndrome’ which prevents them from diving.  That means they can’t eat and are at the mercy of ocean currents. See the chunk missing out of this one’s shell?  It won’t grow back, but the edge will heal a bit.  I think this turtle was just about ready to go the main tank in the aquarium.  They put the turtles in the tank to be sure they will adapt to having predators nearby before releasing them into the ocean. Did you know sea turtles can’t retract their heads and limbs into their shells the way land turtles can? The hospital cared for turtles from the very young to those decades old. We were fascinated and among the last to leave. I could have happily spent the rest of the day there, watching the sea turtles and learning more about them.  If I remember correctly they said sea turtles could hold their breath for an hour.  We were delighted when several of them kept surfacing as we watched.  They were adorable.  That doesn’t seem like the right word, but that’s what they were.  Adorable. The tanks contain some less saltwater than in the ocean.  They mix in extra freshwater to help the turtles recover more quickly. There was a small area with a bit more information on the different kinds of sea turtles. The x-rays were fascinating.   There was even an old shell you could pick up and look at. The turtle hospital was probably my favourite part of our visit to the aquarium.  They only open the hospital to visitors a couple of times a day, so if you are visiting make sure to check the schedule.  See the other parts of our visit to the aquarium here and here.

Part one is here.  Upstairs at the aquarium there is a hands-on area.   There’s also a playground.  We had a browse around while we waited for the talk to start.  Surprisingly, I don’t actually have pictures of the kids touching the various sea creatures we were allowed to interact with.  I was too busy enjoying the experience and monitoring a two-year-old.  Sometimes you just have to step back from the camera.  We watched the man climb into the tank and he taught us how to shuffle our feet through the sand to avoid stepping on stingrays and other creatures. LadyBug was swallowed by a gigantic fish.  Not to worry, she recovered nicely. We found Nemo’s cousin in another anemone. His siblings were being invaded by all sorts of strange children. There’s a rock fish in this tank.  More than one, actually, although I think there’s only one in the picture.  See him? They blend in so incredibly well.  Can you imagine climbing around in the water and stepping on one?  Yikes! We looked at the seahorse tank and wondered if they had come from Seahorse World that we’d visited in Tasmania.  When we were there they told us they supply seahorses to aquariums all over the world. These are those fish that swim around in formation.  They were fun to watch. That fish was swallowing my kids again. At least it wasn’t the shark that got them. Then we headed back downstairs for the dangerous creatures talk and a trip to the turtle hospital.  We learned that certain kinds of cone snails can cause fatalities in humans.  Never pick up a cone shell you find on the beach! One more try of the dive helmet! Then we were off for a visit of the turtle hospital next door!

We’ve skipped visiting aquariums until Townsville since we’d heard that this was a good one.  The Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium.  There’s a lot to see with talks scheduled throughout the day.  We were able to attend several of the talks and learn about all these fascinating sea creatures.  Of course, when you see an old diving helmet begging to be worn you must try it on… So much to see at this aquarium!  There were large tanks where you could admire the coral and all the sea creatures. Nemo was there hiding in his sea anemone home. The caravan park we stayed at on the Gold Coast had a large tank that had several of these blue starfish.  We loved them and would look for them every time we walked by.  They are such a striking blue.  And look at all the different types of coral! There were interactive displays where you could learn about the different sea creatures, or you could just stare at the tanks for ages and soak up all the gorgeous colours. This purple and orange fish is called a royal dottyback.  What a name! I loved the pattern on this angelfish.  Apparently it’s a juvenile and the pattern will change as it matures. There was a ‘river’ tank as well, with freshwater fish and turtles. We admired the different types of coral, they can grow into such different shapes! We marvelled over all the creatures in the smaller tanks.  These sea urchins were huge!  Also in this room was a large tank with a small crocodile that we got to watch them feed.  He could jump so high!  I thought I had a picture but it’s disappeared.  JitterBug especially loved that croc. These jellyfish look like they are inside out or upside down. Ummm, teeth?  No thanks. Then we made our way to the large tank.  One of those that forms a tunnel you can walk through.  There was a sea turtle on one side, we found out later that he had been rehabilitated at the aquarium and would soon be returning to the ocean. The poor turtle had buddies that would cling underneath him when he swam.  We saw him bringing his flippers together underneath him to try to shake them off. I thought I had pictures of the sharks but this is the only one I can find, not such a good pic.  But it’s proof there were sharks in the tank! The super big fish are always so amazing to see! Awwww…. These fish always look like they are smiling!  There were divers in this tank filming a video.  Those orange and black fish crowded around them the whole time they were in the tank. We even saw some mermaids! More to come!