AQUARIUMS NEW ZEALAND

SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium is one of Auckland's most iconic marine attractions, located just outside the CBD on the Tamaki Drive waterfront and open since 1985. The aquarium is home to thousands of marine animals across hundreds of species, including sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, seahorses, jellyfish, and the Southern Hemisphere's largest sub-Antarctic penguin colony. Visitors can walk through spectacular underwater viewing tunnels, experience the thrilling Shark Cage Snorkel, meet penguins up close through the Penguin Passport encounter, and explore over 30 live animal exhibits. As New Zealand's only Turtle Rescue Centre, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton's is deeply committed to ocean conservation through its partnership with the SEA LIFE Trust charity.

The National Aquarium of New Zealand is a public aquarium situated on Marine Parade in Napier, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. The aquarium features an impressive 1.5 million litre oceanarium tunnel where visitors are surrounded by stingrays, kingfish, hapuku, snapper, and kahawai, as well as exhibits showcasing little penguins, kiwi, tuatara, turtles, long-finned eels, puffer fish, crayfish, and a flooded forest display with pacu fish. Three reef exhibits, an ancient life display, and a variety of ocean-themed galleries offer broad educational appeal for all ages. Owned by Napier City Council, the aquarium serves as a key destination celebrating New Zealand's unique marine and terrestrial taonga species.

The Island Bay Marine Education Centre, also known as the Bait House Aquarium, is a community marine aquarium and education facility located on The Esplanade in Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand. Established in 1996 and run by the Wellington Marine Conservation Trust, the centre is housed in a historic former bait shed within the heart of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. The aquarium displays live local marine animals including octopuses, seahorses, blue cod, and crayfish, and maintains one of the largest collections of local marine life in New Zealand. A popular Touch Gently Pool allows visitors to interact with starfish, sea cucumbers, and crabs. Open every Sunday and offering school programs and snorkelling experiences throughout the year, the centre connects communities with Wellington's extraordinary coastal marine environment.