In our 'Brightest Sites' series, we feature this season's best attractions for both locals and visitors alike. Previously, we reported on the Da Vinci Exhibition and CretAquarium in Gouves. This month we highlight Aquaworld in Hersonissos.

Voted by many as the best “thing to do” in Hersonissos, Aquaworld Aquarium approaches its fifteenth birthday with justifiable pride! While its initial concept was to showcase local marine life in small, individual tanks, Crete’s first aquarium soon began to mean something very different – both to its management and to its visitors.

 Judith McLaren (co-curator) explains: “Of course, what John originally envisaged is still a vital part of what we do here – bringing people close to Cretan wild life. Visitors are impressed - photographers in particular - when they realise that they can get so close to the animals in the intimate environments Aquaworld provides. In fact, as the only venue in Greece where local reptiles can be photographed like this, images of some of our ‘kids’ have even featured in the Greek national magazine ‘Panorama’.”

 
First-class photography opportunities at Aquaworld

 Putting on a bit of a show has also always been a part of what Aquaworld does… feeding time at 10.30am is always popular, but it really is “elbow-room only” on Tuesday and Friday mornings when the pythons, the crocodile and the octopuses are fed. Visitors return for these special events at no extra cost – Aquaworld has always given annual “membership” cards to everyone who buys a ticket – real value for money!

 
The crowd enjoying crocodile feeding time

Olivia the octopus preparing for lunch

 However, very early on Aquaworld became involved in other, perhaps more “serious” ventures as it began a history of assisting Archelon – the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece - in the rescue and rehabilitation of sea turtles. As part of this cooperative effort, for the last nine years Aquaworld has cared for Stephania, a blind green turtle, originally rescued by Archelon and restored to health at their rescue centre in Glyfada, Athens, before being flown to Crete in June 2000.

Stephania, the blind green turtle 

John McLaren, who first conceived of an aquarium here on Crete as long ago as 1991, takes up the story: “Our local knowledge has also enabled us to assist in a number of projects such as the collection of sea star DNA for Dr Georg Ribi of the University of Zurich. Recently, we have also become a focal point for field herpetologists visiting Crete hoping to see and photograph the island’s endemic reptile population. The latest of these was led by Dr Jeroen Speybroeck of Belgium and follows similar visits by British and German specialists.”

 
Dr Speybroeck (third from left) and his party – June 2009

 But not all the action takes place inside the aquarium itself. Once a fortnight Judith and John take a few of the reptile inhabitants “on the road” and give an evening presentation on the marine environment and animal welfare at the Sbokos Group Cretan Malia Park Hotel. Their efforts have partly contributed to the hotel achieving second place in the annual international TUI Environmental Award competition last year, a position Aquaworld will try to help them improve on this year!

The show is on the road - youngsters get to handle a python...

Much more directly, Aquaworld has now become a refuge for many unwanted animals. “Unfortunately,” John explains, “many people buy animals which they are not able to care for long-term. We are constantly asked to take in iguanas, pythons and - in one quite astounding case - a fish (see next month’s issue), which just simply grew too big for their former owners to cope with. We always help where we can and have just accepted three more iguanas from the EKPAZ rescue centre in Aegina with, perhaps, two more pythons to follow. This will help take the pressure off the EKPAZ staff and allow them to concentrate on their wonderful work, particularly with injured birds. Aquaworld is also dealing with its third crocodilian sold in the pet trade here. Sobek is a little Nile crocodile, but he won’t stay small for long! Our job in this case is to take the animal out of the pet trade and to place it where it can be cared for in a more appropriate way. Readers might remember Snap, who is now enjoying life near Athens thanks to the director of Attica Park Zoo.”

Sobek, the little Nile crocodile

 So, from simple aquarium to research assistant to animal refuge to travelling ambassador for wildlife, Aquaworld can certainly be said to have come of age and is yet another of the brightest sites which enhance tourism as well as local life here on Crete.

 (Next month: Lychnostasis Museum, Hersonissos)