The Dancing School of Silvery Fish

I was mesmerized!  I have always loved aquariums and had just spent a perfectly lovely day walking through what was then the very new, very smart, very over-the-top Manly Aquarium in Sydney, Australia.  The developers of what was described as "an underwater viewing stage" had created a stunning jaw-dropping aquarium.

One of its headlining features is the underwater tunnel through which aquarium patrons glide along on a moving walkway while sharks and all manner of other fish glide overhead allowing fish and human up-close-and-personal encounters.  This was the first underwater viewing tunnel I had experienced--and indeed was only the second in the world to exist! It was nearly too amazing to imagine!   New Zealanders Kelly Tarlton and Ian Mellsop, had built the first for their native country in Auckland just two years earlier.  (Today I read that the company Tarlton and Mellsop began, Marinescape NZ Ltd. is a leader in aquarium design.)

Yes, the walk-through tunnel aquarium was astounding, but the most marvelous, most memorable aquarium display I have ever seen in any aquarium anywhere in the world, was an astoundingly large tank several stories high and many feet wide.  Comfortable benches placed in a semi-darkened room facing the wall of shimmering crystal clear water beckoned to this tried aquarium visitor.

I sat down hoping for a quiet respite from the eager crowds being moved through the "shark tunnel".  Upon relaxing, I became aware of Vivaldi's Spring Concerto floating through the pale blue room. Ah, music to soothe the soul, and a bench on which to rest.  Perfect!  Ah....but that was not all.

There were fish--tiny shiny silvery fish in that shimmering water!  Hundreds or maybe even thousands of them!  Dancing!  Cavorting!  Slipping through that silky water in perfect unison!

Painting the music of Vivaldi for all to see!

Unforgettable!

A Kanga and a Roo too?

Since this blog title also includes the word, "kangaroo", I guess it is time I added a "moment that made me smile" that involved that interesting creature.  Since I grew up with a stuffed animal kangaroo and her joey, that we named Kanga and Roo, I have always been fascinated with this animal and had hoped one day to see a mother with her joey in "real life" shall we say.

Yes, I was in Australia when I had my "kangaroo encounter".  The kangaroo that added to my "smile list" was observed in a wildlife park in Sydney.  She was an average-sized docile looking creature in the midst of dozens of other fellow kangaroos hopping about a large grassy enclosure.  What caught my attention, though, was her pouch.

Kangaroo with her joey

Something in it was moving!  Ah yes, she had a joey with her.  As I stood there fascinated by the movements of her pouch--like a watching a punching bag being punched from the inside out--suddenly not the head appeared of this tiny kangaroo but its two back legs!

Blissfully unaware of the stir she and her joey had created for the onlookers-- with the tiny legs of her joey sticking straight up like forks out of her pouch--Kanga, with Roo happily ensconsed in its warm and cozy home, bounded off in picturesque springs.