Irukandji has some exciting news!

The brand new tropical lagoon is temporarily open now for a sneak peak before we close again after the holidays to finally build the building enclosing it! Due to open September last year the new lagoon has had a long string of covid shaped delays in the construction and transport industries! Now with a awesome interim occupancy we are so happy to welcome visitors for a sneak peak while we await the purpose built building parts to arrive.

Phase 2 is almost complete and it is amazing. It would not have happened without the help of a few key people and businesses including:

• Envirotecture
• Ceassa Electrical
• Art By Beaz- Steve Beazley Artist
• Bel-Air Pools
• AJs Concreting
• Integrated Foundations
• Fluidra
• Fresh by Design
• SS & LM Johnston PTY LTD
• Our amazing staff
• Murrell Shed Builders
• GridScape

For now visitors can come for a sneak peek of the lagoon to meet some new species and try out new activities.

Once the holidays are over the lagoon will close again for a short time so the enclosure can be built around it. That’s right! The new INDOOR lagoon will be open for winter!

It will be a great place to spend time with our tropical animals whilst staying warm and cosy.

These holidays there are even more opportunities for visitors to get up close to sharks and rays. We’ve opened up two new activities and made some changes to some of our most-loved encounters.
The tropical snorkel will now take place in the new lagoon with the tawny nurse sharks and brand new white-tipped reef sharks swimming around in the deep water. Guests over the age of 12 can participate in this activity and it’s great for anyone with or without snorkeling experience!

A brand new snorkel the “Zebra Shark Snorkel” will also take place in the new lagoon, now available for the little ones ages 7 and up! Mum and dad can enter in with them (no need to snorkel) and help them learn in the shallows, gaining the confidence to go out over the deep.

Finally there’s still the amazing opportunity to get a glimpse of the underwater world with our “Lagoon Snorkel”! This takes place in the original Fingill Lagoon with a beautiful fever of enthusiastic rays and stingrays.
The Little Ray Cuddle is a new experience suitable for all ages and great for the whole family. It’s the best way to get a close encounter with our gentle and friendly rays and experience a cuddle like no other. It’s limited to only 6 spaces per session so you’re guaranteed to get some quality time with them.

In the new tropical lagoon you’ll get to meet some of our new friends including two new zebra sharks and some exciting white-tipped reef sharks. With 5 zebra sharks now in the tropical lagoon (and a sweet baby zebra shark in the nursery) there’s now even more opportunities to get close to them. The very popular zebra shark encounter is a great for all ages and we now have 4 sessions running every day to give more visitors than ever a chance to get to know them.

The best news is that our entry prices remain the same but as we’ve doubled in size you will get even more value for money.

Your entry pass includes the shallows encounter in both lagoons so you can meet a range of different animals. If you want to get closer (and wetter!) we recommend hiring a wetsuit for an extra $10 each so your encounter is even more exciting.

You won’t have to worry about the cold as the tropical lagoon is heated all year round and we’ve got hot showers nearby!

Don’t forget to use your Service NSW Parents or Discover vouchers to get a discount on your entry and encounters. You must book online during the holidays so don’t miss out.

Did you Catch Us on Better Homes & Gardens?

If you were watching Channel 7 last week you may have seen Irukandji and Sea Shelter featured on Better Homes & Gardens. They were here earlier in the year to spend some time at Irukandji and also get the know the work we do at Sea Shelter.
We were very happy to introduce them to Elvis while he was being rehabilitated at Sea Shelter and then invite them back to film his release last month.
You can watch the whole segment by clicking the link below.

Sea Shelter news

The great news is that we got to release Elvis after months of rehabiliation.
The team at Better Homes & Gardens joined us to film the release and we had a great crowd of onlookers cheering for him too.
It was an emotional moment for the team of Sea Shelter volunteers who have been there with him since he first arrived with severe facial injuries and it’s been a joy for them to watch him heal. He will be missed but everyone is so happy to see him back in his home.

We’ve had four successful new rescues recently, a couple of tiny hatchlings, a juvenile green sea turtle named Abel and a large green sea turtle who is yet to be named.
The two babies are Coral (loggerhead turtle) and Emerald (a green sea turtle). Both are missing part of their front flippers which is likely due to a predator attack. Emerald is also missing part of both her back flippers, this is a difficult case as we will need to determine if she will be able to swim well enough to survive in the wild. They’re currently doing well in our quarantine facility.

Meet Abel!

The other green sea turtle, Abel, was rescued from the break wall near the Ferry Terminal in Nelson Bay on the 12.2.22.
A member of the public, the awesome Timothy Offen, noticed a small turtle, with a fair few barnacles that was not moving very much and sitting in very shallow water at the edge of the break wall. With quick thinking he got in touch with Sea Shelter and Norma & Alex were there in a flash to rescue her.
Then Abel visited Port Stephens Koala Hospital for some X-rays which found she had gas in her intestines a suspected salmonella infection. So now after some barnacle removal in the freshwater bath, a course of antibiotics, and some fattening up little Abel is doing really well and will be back in the wild in no time.

Sadly we have also had a few unsuccessful rescues recently including a hatchling with a crack in her little shell who didn’t make it and a few already deceased. A very sad incident last week was a healthy looking turtle at Tanilba Bay who was found deceased in a crab net.
Sadly many of the turtle deaths recently have been due to human interaction. Remember if you see a distressed animal in the wild please get in touch so we can do our best to rescue and care for it.