Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World

Kelly Tarton's is a tourist attraction located close to down town Auckland on Tamaki Drive. This is a great activity if you have a spare couple of hours and want to see some penguins and stingrays and learn about expeditions to the Antarctic. And the kids seem to really like it.

The tickets are about NZ$30 for adults but if you go to the Kelly Tarton website there is a 10% discount. Parking was free when we were there.

There is a whole section on Antarctic expeditions from the perspective of explorer Captain Robert Scott and his men and their adventures in the early part of the last century.

In order to view the penguin exhibit there are vehicles (snowcats) that take you slowly around the exhibit that housing the penguins. They have both King and Gentoo penguins in the exhibit. Look out for "Fatboy," one of the King penguins, he is quite large and appears to love being the center of attention. The penguins can see you and will look at you. But most of the time they seem to act just as if they were alone in a remote area of the Antarctica.

Besides the different aquariums housing a variety of species, there is also a tunnel aquarium where you will see sharks and moray eels. Though I thought the best exhibit after the penguins was the one with the stingrays. Just watching them glide through the water is quite impressive.

I am not sure if I would go again unless I had children with me. It was a great way to waste a couple of hours and see some penguins up close.

And one last note: BEWARE of the moving walkway. I was not paying attention and lost my footing and fell, totally embarrassed myself!!!! :)