Aquarium, Sydney

Located in Darling Harbour, this aquarium is somewhat small in apperance but once inside it becomes pretty big......look in tourist welcome booklets for a 20% off coupon for it's a steep $25 AU to get in !!!!! come early come late this place is always packed....good thing is, it's stay opens everyday til 10 p.m......a must do for any tourist in Sydney !!!!!

UPDATE: MAY 2008
Now $35 AU to get in !!!!

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Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour, takes you on a tour of the seas and oceans surrounding Australia's vast coastline and the rivers, waterways, estuaries and swamps of our large and diverse yet dry land mass.

Situated in Darling Harbour the aquarium houses over 11,000 animals from over 630 species of Australian fish, reptiles and mammals that have an affinity with water.

Joined by near to 60 metres of underwater tunnels, the Sydney Aquarium presents the animals according to the regions in which they can be found in the waters around and within Australia: Southern Rivers; Northern Rivers; Southern Ocean; Northern Ocean.

Six million litres of water house this varied and colourful exhibit. See these animals upclose, as they swim about in their "near to natural" environments and observe them as they look back at you and as you wonder about them, they're probably doing the same of you. Captain Nero has nothing on this!

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The Sydney Tower has an observation deck 250 meters above street level with 360 degree views which are amazing.
When you arrive at the tower you need to get in line and buy your ticket (if you haven't already). I also included the Aquarium and Skywalk so I didn't have to buy them later. Then you got in the cue for the lift. You will have open your bag (if you have one) and show that you have nothing dangerous and go through a metal detector. Then a guy will take your photo which you can buy when you get back down.
(I didn't end up buying that photo but they give you a pack with a big photo and a few postcards with your pic on it in a big fold out thing that tells you about the tower. Just a hint I told the guy I didn't want it and he knocked $10 off the price just like that so if you want it cheaper try that!)
There are people that put you in the lift and make sure you go to the right level. The lifts are tiny and they pack the people in so if you're claustrophobic you might want to mention it because it does take a little while to get to the top.
Once you get out the lift you're just amazed at the views! You can literally see everything! You can just look out of the massive windows or they have mounted binoculars that zoom in on small detail. If you are going to take a pic of yourself with the view behind you make sure you have the flash on.
Next up for me was the Skywalk, if you booked the Skywalk they will announce it over a speaker when it's about to begin. You have to fill in a form saying you understand the dangers. You then get into the little area where you suit up and get a brief on what you'll be doing. You can't take anything loose up with you and they provide free lockers to place your valuables and you keep the key around your neck. Oh and if you are wearing thongs or open shoes they will provide closed in shoes.
Once you're ready to go you walk to the exit, get a harness, hook yourself onto the rail and out you go. It's really cool, you are standing on top of the Observation Deck in the open air and you can see through the floor! You do a full 360 walk of the tower and the tour guide points out famous things and tells little stories, it's really awesome. You will get your photo taken (which you can buy later) and the whole thing takes about 1/2 hour. I highly recommend it! If you can't afford the Bridge Climb this is a fantastic alternative! You buy your pics downstairs and also get a certificate.
Upon leaving the Observation Desk you go down one level to the Sky Lounge where you can get a drink and something small to eat and still look out over Sydney.
Also included in the Observation Deck ticket is entry to OzTrek which is on the ground level. It's basically a weird kind of ride where you 'fly' through the video shown on the 3 massive screens in front of you and the seats move to what you see. It's pretty good but I felt a bit sick by the end of it.

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Of all the places to go in Sydney this is one of the best. The Aquarium is jam packed with great aquatic life and there are many different sections to explore.
When you enter you go through a Murray River section which is a little boring for Australians but if you're an overseas tourist I'm sure it's great. Once you get through this section you move onto a rock pool with small sharks, stingrays and other fish. Also surrounded but in other enclosures include octopus, squid, jellyfish and tropical fish.
As you make your way through you get to a seal section where you can walk above the pool and also below. There wasn't much action below as their are only 3 seals and are more likely to be on the surface. Another section you can walk under is full of different species of sharks, stingrays, turtles and when I was there the divers were cleaning the tank.
As you get further around you get to The Great Barrier Reef section and this is the magical part. There is one massive tank that is jam packed with all different types of fish and sharks. You walk al the way around this tank and on one side there are two massive fish that honestly have to be seen to be believed.
At the very end of the Aquarium is one huge wall where you can look into the tank full of sharks and fish. It is the biggest and most amazing tank I have ever seen. Their are a few steps you can sit on and just watch as the sharks swim up to the glass and go past you!

Do not miss out the acquarium, this is one of the best acquariums I have visited so far. If you are not interest in wildlife world....do not buy the Combo ticket. The acquarium gives a 10-20% discount for a group of people with more than 10 and there is no queue for the group entry when compared to the normal ones....so try to make friends at the enterance for quicker entry and save both time & money

Interesting.....
It appeared that a lot of the animals had been rescued for the wild and that is why they were in the zoo. I heard a story on the radio in 2004 I think about the shark tank glass breaking here and the sharks and all the water spilling onto about seven patrons of the aquarium. It was interesting because they had so many native species, but I might venture to say that it was a little odd. We were there in the beginning of Australia's winter, so that may have had something to with it.

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I was reminded by the movie Finding Nemo when I visited the Sydney Aquarium, as most of the aqua life I saw there were featured in the movie.

This aquarium has a great variety of Australian marine life; from sharks and rays to seals and platypus.

It has the typical underwater tunnel thingy, but also some informative exhibitions that won’t bore you.

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Sydney Aquarium is a must-see, and one of the best things to do in Sydney. Walk under water and explore Australia's rich and diverse aquatic life and habitats. A trip to Sydney Aquarium is fantastic fun for kids, family and friends.

I dont like this kind of visit but after the visit of the sydney Aquarium I was really astonished .
Sydney Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world with more than 5000 different fishes displayed in their natural environment. You cant be so near to sharks in any other place...

The Sydney Aquarium is a fun and educational place to go alone or with family. The aquarium holds a huge number of aquatic life and their habitats. Rather than watching animals is a small tank, these sea life have been allocated a large place for them to live and interact with other sea life. It's open everyday from 9.00am to 10.00pm

Admission
Adult AUD$27.50
Child AUD$14.00
Refer to other rates on their website