Durban - Durban’s uShaka Marine World celebrates 10 years this year. The park was opened on April 30, 2004. This is one amusement park which I had always looked at from outside.
But I finally succumbed to the lure of the uShaka complex and joined the hundreds of thrill-seekers who flock here daily to indulge in the aquariums, and get wet in the process.
In simple terms one could call this a zoo for live fish and marine animals. The Durban Sea World allows ordinary people like you and me to meet face-to-face with some of nature’s most fierce creatures on earth: sharks, most intelligent: dolphins, and most remarkable: turtles – among a myriad of odd sea characters that most of us only see on nature television.
The complex itself is built around a life-sized 1920s-era cargo steamer – the Phantom Ship – marooned, snug in the centre of the exhibitions.
Forming the entrance into the aquarium, the giant shipwreck stands high and dry, wedged between rocks and lagoons, and anyone who enters it, goes straight into the dark world of the oceans.
On closer inspection one will work out that the ship is actually stranded on a giant sea pond, cut up into seven large seawater tanks, 11 mammal pools and 60 other smaller tanks (call them cages) for quarantine, rehabilitation, and research purposes.
It is a mystery who the original sailors on the ship were, but one could tell a whole story about them if you question the existence of a cannon on board the vessel, wood and timber on the upper decks, 1920s electrical installations and some old-style freight. But as a wreck, the Phantom Ship by itself stands in graceful poise, an artistic restoration of history through which one can trace the life of those who lived during the 17th century, and sailors of old. The dolphin stadium can seat 1 200 visitors, and the seal stadium can seat about 450.
I met Elias Lwaboshi, the animal encounters manager who explained that Durban’s uShaka complex had one of the most sophisticated water filtrations systems in the world.
The aquarium itself sucks in some 430m3/hr of “fresh” seawater from shallow well-points buried in the sea bed off the Golden Mile’s Point area.
By using a natural seawater extraction mechanism drawing from the Indian Ocean, the aquarium supports the seven large pools, which can be viewed from above on the land, or underground through acrylic windows.
But that is until one dares to get into the tanks themselves, in cages, to meet Sea World’s most terrifying residents one-on-one.
The water volumes in these giant sea swimming pools are astonishing – approximately 11 000m3 for the dolphinarium, another 11 000m3 for the oceanarium and 400m3 for the quarantine and rehabilitations area.
The total volume of seawater for the oceanarium is 22 400m3, making it the fifth-largest facility of its kind in the world by seawater volume, and arguably among the best on the continent.
Lwaboshi explained that since the aquarium was designed for people who would otherwise not be able to see and experience the sea without actually going on a voyage, the aim of the uShaka Marine existence’s is multifold, ranging from conservational and education to marine research and ocean water experiences.
Weeks ago an adult green turtle, later curiously named Napoleon, was found stranded and in distress in Sodwana Bay and was brought in and given a home at uShaka’s Sea World.
Five horseshoe crabs recently made it on to the late night news after they arrived from Indonesia. Staff at Sea World gave them the names Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy and Sneezy. Selso the seal was recently released back into the sea after a couple of weeks in rehabilitation at uShaka.
Now thousands of people watch him live on YouTube, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook, swimming the oceans in real time, a feat that until recently was confined to specialist animal researchers.
“There is a real threat to the natural world nowadays, and environmental conservation should be a priority for everyone. People need to be educated about the importance of the natural ecosystem. We need to spread the word and guard against over-fishing, pollution and other dangers that threaten the natural world,” said Lwaboshi.
Before I took a walk around the shipwreck, the complex gardens and the aquariums themselves, I asked Lwaboshi to take me through the daily grind of keeping uShaka’s Sea World in top condition, and some of the technicalities in water treatment.
His answer was technical: “We try to provide for uniform control of the temperature in the exhibition tanks and we do so to stabilise salinity, the pH, alkalinity, trace minerals and we have to prevent the build-up of any harmful water objects, chemicals or nutrients in the exhibitions.”
He explained that the geometry of the tanks, including their surface dimensions, depth, the special habitats (as in the presence or absence of tight corners) and other physical parameters were all specially designed with the help of expert naturalists to provide the best possible conditions to keep the marine life in the most suitable ocean-like environment.
The upkeep of the aquarium is seasonal, as this is a large animal support system where gallons of “fresh” seawater continuously flows through the tanks, before being disgorged into the Ocean on the other side.
Thus huge maintenance goes into monitoring water quality, temperature, salinity and also to make sure that floatables, oils, grease and undesirable solids like tree leaves and dust are kept out.
In simple terms, uShaka keeps a strict housekeeping routine that allows giant pumps to suck up seawater from the ocean, complete with its natural sand and sediments through pre-filters, which gives the water in the giant aquarium a low turbidity and consistent “natural” seawater.
The water suction system is woven through some nine gardens, with plant installations, but inside the rehabilitation centre one is sure to meet anything from a seasnake to a giant bullfrog, a cownose, a penguin or a stingray to a beaded dragon, a bowmouth guitarfish, green turtles and loggerheads.
Lwaboshi explained that the bulk of the marine mammals at uShaka are representative of the entire KwaZulu Natal coastline, and a few other mammals found elsewhere in the world. It is here that one can meet fish that until today you had only heard or read about in recipe books, and those associated with a good restaurant dinner.
But no matter how much I tried to memorise the names of the sea animals at uShaka, nothing had prepared me for the exotic names of some of the residents found in the deep along KwaZulu Natal’s coastline. Convict surgeon and pencilled surgeon, Indian goatfish and blacksaddle goatfish, fourbar damsel, ladder wrasse, coachman, sergeant major and largespot pompano are some of the names that left me gaping as Lwaboshi gushed them out, saying that as an animals encounters manager, it was his job not only to know the fish and animals, but also their lifestyles and natural habits.
In the second tank I met the green and loggerhead turtles as well as their cousins, the springers, the oxeye tarpons and the bonefish.
Turtles are among the most ancient animals in the world, and they are also critically endangered.
In some parts of the world they are slaughtered for food while their shells fetch high prices as souvenirs or hair clips. Into the third tank I went. Here, on the rocky reef exhibit live such delicate species as Englishman, slinger and stumpnose, which lurk alongside eel-tail catfish, giant moray eels, the black musselcracker, javelin grunter and ember parrotfish.
The open ocean tank is the largest tank at uShaka and here visitors gaze through an enormous window 8mx3m to see such characters as the stingrays, giant kingfish, the rainbow runners, tuna and pompano, which all share a house-like tank in perfect harmony.
In tank number five the dusky shark and the ragged-tooth shark live side by side with their arch enemies, the brindle bass.
Lwaboshi explained that brindle bass sometimes ate small sharks, and having them living side-by-side with dusky shark and ragged-teeth at uShaka was one of the most amazing cases of bizarre animal friendships ever encountered, even by captivity standards. But the most amazing fact that he disclosed was that brindle bass were fully protected by South African law, and anyone caught catching or eating a brindle bass can be fined up to R800 000.
In the same tank is the giant guitarfish, also known as a sand shark because of its elongated snout, which makes the head look much bigger than what it actually is. Up to tank number six next to look at the reef predators such as the silvertip shark and the blacktip shark.
Lwaboshi explained that these sharks were rarely seen, except by deep sea divers and that their usual habitant was in deep underwater caves.
They feed mostly on fish and crustaceans and even if they were not known to be dangerous to humans, they are still known for their opportunistic nature and given a chance, they will bite humans.
I did not get a chance to visit the dangerous creatures section, but Lwaboshi informed me that I could have expected to meet anything in both local and and exotic animals, from rock pythons to Burmese pythons, Nile crocodiles, black mambas, tarantulas, scorpions, and gila monsters. Of the 48 individual attractions at uShaka it was not possible to go through all of them in one or two days, and after a basic discussion of the main attractions at Sea World, Lwaboshi explained that it was my turn to get into the seawater itself, and interact with the beasts of the ocean. That meant three things, snorkelling, shark cage diving and walking in the ocean.
My heart quickened by a few beats. Snorkelling by itself is no big deal and I have done this before. But as an underwater experience, swimming with more than 1 000 fish at any one time is something one doesn’t get to do every day.
For the ocean walk I din’t know what to expect but the moment the resident divers at uShaka explained that I was going into the depths of the “open” ocean, I felt both fear, and excitement.
Far from the documentaries that I spend copious amounts of my television time watching – such programmes as Tanked, Wild Deep, Corwin Quest, Sea Monsters, Shark Buffet and so on – the ocean walk experience, brief as it is , proved to be an eye-opener for a layman such as myself, and a chance to engage in recreational diving without worrying about the intricacies of technical or professional diving.
For many of us, open oceans are for sailors and the ocean depths are for specialists like divers, researchers, biologists and so on.
Thus for me to put on an oxygen mask and dive with sea creatures proved to be a rare opportunity to experience conditions usually only read about, seen on TV and heard about from diving instructors and sea farers.
The third and final encounter of the day-long experience at uShaka is the shark cage experience. Weeks before I was due to venture into uShaka I had googled for information over a controversy that is currently raging among tourists – the practice of shark cage diving.
I had mixed feelings about shark cage tourism. Sharks have a very chequered history in terms of their relationship with humans, and also because of the activities of unscrupulous business people who bait the water with bits of meat and fish in the open seas to attract great white sharks to interact with humans.
But as an industry which is in its infancy, shark cage tourism has been blamed for allowing ordinary people into fragile environments, and in the process of trying to maximise profits, unscrupulous operators have been accused of introducing the very corruption that causes damage to nature and marine biology.
Also getting into, and out of, a shark cage is a cagey business and one could end up badly bruised on the cage handles – that is, if one does not fall into the shark tank outright.
But by the end I was provided with the rare opportunity to not only swim with some of the most feared predators on earth, but to see them face to face in conditions that are both harmless to the sharks, and to the people coming in to see them. You do not need diving experience here, just a few basic understandings about sharks. They generally avoid confrontation and are known to be able to distinguish between colour, shape and contrast, just as well as humans. They are not territorial and unlike land predators like lions or leopards, which need to mark their territory in urine, sharks are simply pelagic animals, meaning they live in the open water without a need to fight for space.
Sharks are under threat more than ever as fishermen increasingly target them for their jaws, teeth, fins and as gamefish.
In terms of bringing sea animals to people in the best natural conditions possible, the complex scores high marks in my book.
While humans have certainly covered large parts of the earth’s land surface in exploration, and even landed on the moon, the depths of the seas are largely unexplored terrain, which only a few ordinary people will ever encounter. All you need to bring along is your swimming costume, a towel, some sunscreen and simple diving equipment. And with that you are ready to experience the depths of the ocean – without ever getting into the ocean itself. - Sunday Independent
n Chikanga was a guest of uShaka. See www.ushakamarineworld.co.za