Darwin Attractions by Aquascene

We are actually experiencing a chilly dry season this year. Down here in the Gully it is colder than up in the city and we have noticed even the tourists are wearing jumpers. Altho a lovely young couple from Tassie thought it was still warm and had singlets. Quite funny really to see the locals in thick jumpers and them in shorts and singlets.

Good fun at the Mindal Markets last night, and the sunset was as beautiful as ever. So many people on the beach enjoying a wine, great food and nature at its finest.

For those of you in Darwin on holidays enjoy your stay and for those thinking of comeing for a visit we look forward to seeing you at Aquascene

WE ARE STILL OPEN!!

At the moment they are digging up a section of our car park for government major works. We still have plenty of carparking and space for busses to turn around, so come on down for a visit.

The mornings have been nice and cool down in the Gully and we have lots of fish in to visit.

The stingray in the ecopond has now learnt how to catch the fish that are being fed to him by coming into the corner of the pond and waiting for his turn to eat. The kids are amazed to see him come half way out of the water up on to the wall to get his share of the fish before the eel tailed catfish do! The mud crabs are getting bigger too and hang around for their share as well.

The children from Nemarluck school have been into visit and have enjoyed every second of feeding the fish. Some of the kids were not able to talk but they sure did show their excitement. We even had a few crying because they didn’t want to leave. Perhaps next time they can stay a little longer

Here we are again, the Arafura Games are on again. I cant wait for the opening ceremony it will be fun for everyone and our own Jessica will be singing live!

For all  competitors with their accreditation badges who would like to hand feed wild fish we will give 10% discount off the admission price.

This week we have morning sessions, and the times are listed in the back of the Destination Darwin booklet.

We would love to see you all.

It is a gorgeous day in Darwin today. Blue sky and dragonflies everywhere. Another beautiful day in our corner of the world.

Our resident Barra are getting bigger and lazier by the day! Seems baby is catching up too! It is getting harder to tell baby from the 4 adults now.

Easter is over for another year and lots of people enjoyed the extra long weekend. We had a lot of happy kids who came to visit with their families and had a great time, although we had a hard time convincing people that box jelly fish are still prevelant in our waters and not to go into the water above their knees.

We are heading into 6-7 mt tides over the next week and the water and fish will be awesome. Take a break from it all and come to Aquascene on the fringe of the city, where you can relax and unwind!

We look forward to seeing you

Here we are again at the end of the “off season” and facing the new season. I have to say that this time of the year is quiet but we are still getting visitors through.

I was speaking to a lovely couple from the UK yesterday who come to Australia every year in winter to enjoy our summer months here. This was their first visit to the Territory but have enjoyed themselves immensely. They had a great time feeding the fish and were in awe of our magnificent tidal changes. They found it hard to look at the arial photo we have of a zero tide and then me showing them the 8 mt tide height on the steps. A fantastic volume of water passes through our harbour in a 6 hour period!

We also suggested that they take a walk around the gully on the path through the rain forest and up to the original fresh water spring (that serviced the town of Palmerston in the late 1800′s) and the up the steps for a walk along Mitchell street to Crocosaurus Cove to see the crocs. We also suggested they might like to stop for a coffee at one of the cafes along Mitchell St. Mmmm cakes and Coffee from Kirks cakes in Ducks Nuts sounds yummy to me!

After that they would need to walk off the extra calories and a trip to the Museum at Bullocky Point was suggested. That is always an interesting couple of hours!

Until we chat again next time enjoy all Darwin has to offer

Wow! Just got a fantastic reciew from Trip Advisor. The staff love it when they find out that their talks are not falling on deaf ears. Even tho’ we have rain in Darwin for weeks and only seen the sun a couple of times in that period, the fish don’t seem to mind and nor do the visitors.

In this weather the crowds are not as big and therefore it is more relaxing. Today is a perfect example it is not raining and it is really cool down near the water. We have Milk Fish, Tiara Batfish,  Barra, Mullet, Crocodillian Long Toms, and 2 or 3 different Sting Rays in today. just to name a few. A good crowd is here already and they are all enjoying themselves.

We have a lot of “storm chasers” in town I believe. It seems Darwin is getting a reputation for a fantastic storms. The lightening is fantastic, but sometimes a little scary in velocity and land strikes.

Wow! I have just checked out flickr.com and found some amazing photo’s of Aquascene. I didn’t realise how many have been posted, there are heaps of people out there who love Aquascene as much as we do!

How fantastic that people love to interact with nature in the simplest way, hand feeding wild fish that come in to the sanctuary because they feel safe and protected here.

We have had lots of rain here but luckily not as much as they have had in Queensland, our hearts go out to all those that have been flooded and lost their treasures. As long as your family is safe that is all you can ask for. Things can be re-purchased, unfortunately photos cant, thank goodness for our memories.

The fish don’t have a problem with the extra rain here…we just find the tide comes in a little higher than predicted and some times depending on the wind the water is murkier but other than that the fish still arrive in to visit. Last week when it was raining during feed time we still had about 15 people standing out in the rain and enjoying every minute of it. Luckily in Darwin the tropical rain is not as cold as it is in the south and you soon dry out once the sun comes out again.

Here we are again, its that time of the year…Xmas hype is over and the children are getting bored at home. Aquascene is a great place to bring the kids for a couple of hours entertainment. We have had a lot of tired parents coming to Aquascene to enjoy watching their children feed the fish and interact with nature while they (the parents) get a chance to unwind and enjoy the scene. We even had a couple of Uni students the other day who came in at the beginning of the session and we had to ask them to leave. They said they had a great time and we should be listed as the best attraction in Darwin. What a fantastic compliment! The staff always feel good when they have extended their love of the wild fish to our visitors. We love it here and we want you to enjoy it too!

Tiny tackers have great fun as well. When they giggle because the fish are swimming around their feet it is contageous, everyone has a smile on their face.

Our opening times are listed for the next three months in This week in Darwin publication and also on our website at www.aquascene.com.au

Take care everyone and we hope to see you soon

Hi, here we are again Xmas Eve 2010! This year seems to have flown past in a hurry. We had a great morning this morning when feeding the fish. They must have known it was Xmas and came out to greet everyone. We had visits from “Smiley” the tusk fish and our other mainstays the mellet and the milk fish.

For the last week or so we have been getting visits from a large groper who is quite friendly. We have noticed in tides over 6 metres he has been coming in and lurking underneath the feed shed. I don’t know if he was told about us by his younger cousin the rock cod who is smaller but oh so friendly. He even lets one of our staff scratch him now, at first he wouldn’t let anyone touch him but now he is happy to sit on Maree’s feet if she has them in the water.

From us to you all….we wish you a very merry Xmas and a Safe New year. Please take care on the roads with the extra traffic about.

If ever you plan on coming to Darwin please look us up we would love to show you our fabulous corner of the world =:)

Shan and Staff