Hot and humid day in Cairns ( Northern Queensland has two seasons a year, the extremely hot season, and the extremely hot and wet season which it is now) so we decided it was to be a relaxing day so we had a short walk along to Cairns Aquarium. The aquarium was arranged in a logical progression, so we started with the fish in the billabongs and were told examples of how they adapted to a drying environment in the summer, for example building up body reserves during the wet season and having lungs to breath out of water. From here we moved onto freshwater river fish which took us through to the rain forest and mangrove swamp section (where we also learned more about the plants and animals as well). The high lights came once we moved into the sections dealing with the coral reefs and deep ocean. As well as an educational resource the aquarium also has a hospital for injured turtles and has a coral biobank having the world’s first conservation program to protect all 415 known species of Great Barrier Reef Hard Corals. Attached to the aquarium was a nice place for lunch, then a walk along the esplanade for coffee and cake. Then by the time we walked back to the hotel we were soaking with sweat, but the hotel air conditioning cooled us down nicely.
