Last Friday, early in the evening, a very excited group of 45 girls were dropped off at the Two Oceans Aquarium. Supper was served in the well next to the Predator Tank, followed by talks on the construction of the Aquarium and on some of its occupants. The girls were then led to the various exhibits. What a pleasure it was to walk around the Aquarium without being jostled by hordes of other people, to be able to spend as much time as we liked in front of our favourite exhibits, to be able to actually get our hands into the Touch Pool, and to ask our knowledgeable guides as many questions as we wanted! Every girl was given a pillow case to paint with fabric paints.
The ‘educational’ part of the evening ended with a challenging quiz in which the girls excelled, astounding the teachers with how well they remembered many of the minute details they had been given earlier in the evening. The last hour before bed-time was spent cosily wrapped up in blankets, watching a fun movie, munching sweets and biscuits. Then it was off to bed in front of the Predator Tank, with all the lights turned off except for the dim ones glowing in the Predator and Kelp tanks, giving the effect of moonlight on the water. What a special experience it was – lying there watching the grey sharks, the silvery manta rays, the schools of large fish gliding past and the kelp swaying in the currents! The effect was quite soporific. Soon all that was heard was the heavy breathing of sleeping girls and the quiet buzzing of the copper cob swimming slowly by. The next morning, after a quick breakfast, we had time for a short visit to the penguin exhibit, and all too soon it was time to go home.
