14th January 2020

January 14th – and Summer’s first birthday in the sun! She celebrated her twelfth birthday in the Australian sunshine, so very different from the cold, rainy weather in Bradninch at the moment. We visited Sydney Aquarium – and had a marvellous time exploring the oceans. There were tiny seahorses (my favourites); tropical fish of every colour, shape and size; and 13 species of shark. But I think we were all most fascinated with two creatures: the dugong, and the eagle rays.

The dugong is a curious creature. It is a relative of the elephant, and is a large sea mammal – and we could see it rising to the water surface to breathe. The dugong in Sydney Aquarium was rescued at 3 days old, then released into the wild. But 10 months later it was rescued again in a poor condition, and had been attacked by other male dugongs. So the keepers decided a) to keep him safe at the aquarium and b) to call him Pig (which is an odd choice as he is really more like a cow!) He eats up to 35kg of cos lettuce every day – and that is a lot of lettuce!

The Eagle rays were beautiful – gliding elegantly through the water, gently waving their wings, and swaying their long tails. They are black on their upper surface with tiny white spots, and completely white underneath. Because of the way the aquarium is designed, we were able to walk through the tank in a tunnel and see the rays swim over us, and then look down on them from a balcony over the tank. They had a grace and calmness which was compelling. But of course they are stingrays, and those sleek, long tails hide sharp, venomous barbs. I couldn’t help thinking how nice it was to be seeing them from the safety of the aquarium, rather than first hand in the water!

From the aquarium, we went to Bondi Beach, and watched the surfers strut their stuff. The waves were huge, but there are also strong currents so it is not safe for swimming – and we regularly heard the famous Bondi Beach lifeguards warning people in the water. But Mia and Summer managed to get a feel for the water by jumping waves in the shallows.