so i hit melbourne today. been a good year or so.
okay so i said i'd hate wild sea. and certainly i really did hate a lot of stuff about it. but first i'll tell you what i liked.
the plantings and surrounding gardens are quite nice. they have succeeded in making it feel a bit beachy. the low wire fencing means you can get ridiculously close to the animals - its quite an improved experience. also the wave pool and natural sand beaches for the seals was something i was really hoping for. so its come good with those aspects. the prevalent use of wood works well to compliment the beach vibe. the estuary is tiny, but looks good. the diddler ray pool certainly got a lot of attention. its a nice addition. but really - this exhibit epitomises all we complain about with new zoo exhibits. the old exhibit was bulldozed a millions were wasted on new interps and other extras - and ultimately the animals ended up with a superior but still teeny exhibit.
on that point let me explain what is the biggest addition, both space wise and cost - to wild sea - it is essentially an underground discotheque.
it features a huge indoor revolting disco with giant screens of CG whales and dolphins, coloured light projections of fish that are reminiscent of a disco ball effect - oversized illuminated models of sea weed and a big open space with balconies and various levels that are completely empty of people. why is it empty? becuse thats all it is. space and nobody came to the zoo to watch tv. instead the fraction of the space that is used is all crowded around one of the 3 rather modest sized windows that look into the seal exhibit. but overall the central hub of wild sea has the vibe of a nightclub on a cruise liner at 7pm - its dead. dead space.
of course all the smaller marine tanks are empty. not that anyone cares about small tanks at kids height with plastic seaweed anyway. ten bucks says they remove them before they ever even get inhabitants.
the actual interior of the seal exhibit is ugly. its smooth concrete. its very narrow. the rear wall of the pool is often just a couple of meters from the glass. its REALLY badly painted. you can see the paint roller marks everywhere. obviously it was rushed.
the next underwater viewing station is the penguin exhibit. its a smooth concrete wall, a rushed painted blue again. with odd square windows shelves and ledges. i don't know what i'm looking at? an underwater piece of modernist art? people were confused. we kept walking.
leaving the disco i got to see how small the seal pool really is. the rocks look dumb. the seals were nice and close though. but the coloured glass
facade of the building, is already starting to fall off the building!
the penguin pool is no better from above. you've seen the photos. its atrocious. as you walk around the next side of the penguin exhibit you see the dunes for them to nest in. it looks nice. it makes you realise how good wild sea can be - once it gets a multi million dollar facelift.
what a waste of money.
overall though - the zoo is looking pretty good. those of you that have complained about the "old side" of the zoo should feel different about in now. wild sea is smack bang in the middle of this area and so the older part of the zoo is looking fresh with lots of new gardens etc. small cat alley and the food court has a new lease on life. and virtually all the older exhibits in the zoo have now had a facelift. new handrails, gardens and and exhibit furnishings have done wonders for the big cat and bear exhibits.
the african rainforest and primate boardwalk looks better than ever. its still the best immersion exhibit i've ever seen. all because its understated and full of plants.
oh yeah i saw a baby elephant.
okay so i said i'd hate wild sea. and certainly i really did hate a lot of stuff about it. but first i'll tell you what i liked.
the plantings and surrounding gardens are quite nice. they have succeeded in making it feel a bit beachy. the low wire fencing means you can get ridiculously close to the animals - its quite an improved experience. also the wave pool and natural sand beaches for the seals was something i was really hoping for. so its come good with those aspects. the prevalent use of wood works well to compliment the beach vibe. the estuary is tiny, but looks good. the diddler ray pool certainly got a lot of attention. its a nice addition. but really - this exhibit epitomises all we complain about with new zoo exhibits. the old exhibit was bulldozed a millions were wasted on new interps and other extras - and ultimately the animals ended up with a superior but still teeny exhibit.
on that point let me explain what is the biggest addition, both space wise and cost - to wild sea - it is essentially an underground discotheque.
it features a huge indoor revolting disco with giant screens of CG whales and dolphins, coloured light projections of fish that are reminiscent of a disco ball effect - oversized illuminated models of sea weed and a big open space with balconies and various levels that are completely empty of people. why is it empty? becuse thats all it is. space and nobody came to the zoo to watch tv. instead the fraction of the space that is used is all crowded around one of the 3 rather modest sized windows that look into the seal exhibit. but overall the central hub of wild sea has the vibe of a nightclub on a cruise liner at 7pm - its dead. dead space.
of course all the smaller marine tanks are empty. not that anyone cares about small tanks at kids height with plastic seaweed anyway. ten bucks says they remove them before they ever even get inhabitants.
the actual interior of the seal exhibit is ugly. its smooth concrete. its very narrow. the rear wall of the pool is often just a couple of meters from the glass. its REALLY badly painted. you can see the paint roller marks everywhere. obviously it was rushed.
the next underwater viewing station is the penguin exhibit. its a smooth concrete wall, a rushed painted blue again. with odd square windows shelves and ledges. i don't know what i'm looking at? an underwater piece of modernist art? people were confused. we kept walking.
leaving the disco i got to see how small the seal pool really is. the rocks look dumb. the seals were nice and close though. but the coloured glass
facade of the building, is already starting to fall off the building!
the penguin pool is no better from above. you've seen the photos. its atrocious. as you walk around the next side of the penguin exhibit you see the dunes for them to nest in. it looks nice. it makes you realise how good wild sea can be - once it gets a multi million dollar facelift.
what a waste of money.
overall though - the zoo is looking pretty good. those of you that have complained about the "old side" of the zoo should feel different about in now. wild sea is smack bang in the middle of this area and so the older part of the zoo is looking fresh with lots of new gardens etc. small cat alley and the food court has a new lease on life. and virtually all the older exhibits in the zoo have now had a facelift. new handrails, gardens and and exhibit furnishings have done wonders for the big cat and bear exhibits.
the african rainforest and primate boardwalk looks better than ever. its still the best immersion exhibit i've ever seen. all because its understated and full of plants.
oh yeah i saw a baby elephant.
don't bring that much interest to the area. the ray pool is very good but confusing as to whether it is a touch pool or not. next the box as i would call it is just an empty waste there is a giant seaweed thing in it and thats it, the underwater seal area is very tight and boring i personal don't mind the fake rocks but the blue is just horrible why couldn't it have been shaped like rocks and grey or something that even slighty looks natural, but even so the seals seem to love it they glide up and down and the waves are great. the small tanks on the walkway are still empty