Bournemouth, a rather small town on the south coast of the UK has little in the likes of tourist attractions. It's relaxed vibe spreads across both the sandy beach, the Upper and Lower Gardens and sinuously into the beach front bars and restaurants on a sunny day like the Sunday we visited. However, Bournemouth Oceanarium although small is a wonderful attraction, located just next to the pier.
The Oceanarium is home to crocodiles and catfish, penguins and otters, jellyfish and clownfish, manta rays and sharks and of course, the turtles - a Pignose Freshwater Turtle, an African Mud Turtle and two beautiful female Loggerhead Sea
Turtles. Now just six years old, these Caretta Caretta (Loggerheads) were born in captivity as part of Marineland's, Nice, larger scheme to eventually see loggerhead turtles bread in captivity release back in to the wild. Since being born and spending a few years in the Côte d'Azur they were successfully transported to Bournemouth where they now reside in The Great Barrier Reef.
Despite The Oceanarium being small enough to navigate in 2-3 hours, they do stamp your hand upon entry so you can re-enter for feeding times throughout the day. Luckily this is a feasible idea as most of Bournemouth's 'must-see' bits are huddled around the pier. When feeding times are over you are encouraged to ask and chat with the aquarists who will hand around for a little bit after feeding times and be happy to give you a little bit more information.
For me the main highlights were; the Otter Oasis that has an adorable little glass encased balcony with a sea view, this makes me think that despite being in a relatively small enclosure it gives these mammals a human free zone and an illusion of more space.
Secondly, the Penguin Beach Encounter as lovely as it is, is rather fowl smelling and takes a little acclimatisation but once acclimatised these penguins are curious little guys, we watched them for around 20 minutes leaping out of the water
(almost like dolphins) and trying to find the perfect dive spots to go head first in to the water, they are funny and full of character. This enclosure is an open air enclosure, with a mesh roof that also keeps the little birds inside and gives the penguins a realistic sense of exposure to the elements.
Finally, and obviously, my main highlight was The Great Barrier Reef - as i'm sure many peoples would be - despite the turtles being in what is seemingly a small tank they seem happy to be and above all playful, they show off for visitors, are very interactive and seem almost aware of you being there. These turtles are seemingly humongous to the ones I encountered with Archelon despite being the same species, I'm still trying to work out if this is due to the water and glass magnifying their image to a visitor or whether it is that they have a steady food source and less adversity than the ocean that facilitates more growth? I don't know, all I know is that they are so big and so beautiful!
With an adult ticket priced at £15 and a kids at £10, The Oceanarium is reasonably priced and also offers family deals and student pricing. Although this won't fill up your whole day it will make a nice addition to a sunny day on Bournemouth beach and pier, if you're lucky to catch one. This attraction is great for couples, families, friends and even a solo visit if you're struggling to find someone to accompany you!