With the local commute, courtesy the hotel at my beck and call, I made way to the Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town that is located in Portswood Square at the V&A Waterfront. The moment we entered the gallery, the lights seemed turned into a translucent blue-green and with some soft music in the background, thus began the journey into the unique world of the ocean. The vast treasures and the attractive marine life are being showcased here with only large see through glasses separating the viewers and the aquatic life. It was mesmerizing from the word go. The bigger and the smaller fishes, the known and the unknown varieties, all seemingly blending with each other and co-existing together made for excellent viewing.

Despite the early hour, the aquarium was fast filling up with hoards of children some in groups, some with just their guardians to enjoy this marvel which had a captivating virtue. It is as though the mysteries of the ocean life are unfolding in front of us. The Atlantic Ocean Gallery suitably tagged as the Oceans of Contrast introduced to us the giant spider crabs and despite the unbreakable glass dividing us, I winced in fear. Leaving the ecosystem of the cold Atlantic behind, we stepped into the ecology of the warm Indian Ocean and are greeted with the popular Nemo amidst the coral reefs. The excitement on the faces of the children was beyond description. Other sections of the aquarium made us look through the underwater forest where the fishes gleamed in the silver stream of sun rays.

We kept moving ahead with the swarm of other visitors, sometimes pausing to look at the deadly fishes getting as close as the glass would allow us. The informative placard gave us all the valuable information and enriched the knowledge bank of the children. Inside the Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town, it felt as though we have had a scuba diving experience visually and made a trip back and forth in the oceans of the world. Bidding our farewell to the marine life we moved to the next one on our agenda- the Rhodes Memorial Cape Town.