Reef life in Maui

Our first day here was pretty stormy, with wind and rain and clouds, so we decided to check out the Aquarium to learn about the fish in these waters.  The Maui Ocean Centre has excellent exhibits, focusing on local reef dweller and the bigger fish from the deeper part of the ocean.

It was tough to get good photos through the glass with the fish moving around but I managed to capture a few.  I especially like the color play on the little fish, and the mysterious moon jellies.

The finale  of the aquarium visit is the shark tunnel, where you can walk through a glass tunnel beneath a huge pool full of tiger sharks, sting rays, hammerheads, among others.  It’s very cool (and a bit startling) to see the underside of the rays and the sharks.

Here are Aaron and Laura sitting beneath a school of fish (tuna maybe?).  And just below that you can see the underside of a happy, smiling ray and a hammerhead shark floating by.

  

We’re planning to go on a snorkel trip if the weather gets better and it’s nice to have some knowledge of the fish ahead of time.  I’m looking forward to seeing some of the tropical fish, but not so much the sharks and rays