Australia
Sea World in Australia, not related to the SeaWorld chain, is the largest marine theme park in Oceania. A combination open-air aquarium, theme park and water park, it is associated with other local theme parks which collectively are among the most popular vacation destinations in Australia. Sea World focuses equally on theme attractions, mostly geared towards childrens, and marine exhibits. The park’s highlight, Shark Bay, is the world’s largest man-made shark environment.
This park began life as the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens in 1958, noted for its water skiing shows. It moved to a new location in 1971, and became Sea World a year later with the introduction of a dophin show. In the decades since Sea World has added marine exhibits, shows and theme park attractions at roughly equal pace. Since 2000 it has been regularly numbered among the most visited attractions in Oceania.
Sea World has environments and animals from all over the world, with many animals from the polar regions including penguins, polar bears, seals and sea lions. Two of the most popular exhibits are Ray Reef, home to over a hundred rays, and Shark Bay, a huge lagoon with four zones featuring a wide variety of sharks. Coming soon to the park is an African section featuring creatures native to Africa’s rivers, including hippos and crocodiles.
Sea World is located in the heart of Australia’s Gold Coast, approximately forty miles south of Brisbane. It is open year round generally from 9:30am-5:30pm, though hours vary daily and seasonally. The cost of admission is A$89.99. Web: http://seaworldresort.com/au (official website).
Leave a Reply