The Hauraki Gulf Park is the main attraction at the new Sea Cave Adventure zone, a $1.6 million permanent exhibition at Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s on Auckland’s waterfront.

Designed with help from the Department of Conservation, the interactive and immersive experience is designed to inspire guests to appreciate and explore the wildlife and ecosystems of the Hauraki Gulf.

The aquarium also serves as a turtle rehabilitation centre. Photo / Sea Life Kelly Tarlton's

“We want to encourage our guests to get their hands wet and to be inspired and fall in love with the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park,” said Daniel Henderson, general manager at the aquarium.

Henderson said that the Hauraki Gulf is under pressure from pollution, overfishing and a range of other problems and that it is important to get visitors to appreciate the environment.

A sand tiger shark in the tunnel observatory. Photo / Richard Robinson

“We wanted our visitors to fall in love with the marine park and be inspired to protect it for future generations,” he said.

Guests can encounter native octopus, eel, starfish and crab species, and discover the pack-horse lobster, or crayfish, that are now functionally extinct in the Hauraki Gulf. Sea Cave Adventure features a range of interactive opportunities for children, including digital games, an augmented reality photo opportunity, a crawl-through and slide, and a reinvigorated rockpool experience where guests can touch sea stars, shells, sea urchins and more.

Kelly Tarlton's has the only sub-Antarctic penguin colony in New Zealand Photo / Dean Purcell

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Sea Cave Adventure is supported by the Department of Conservation as a portal for guests to discover the Hauraki Gulf’s marine life, the threats to its future and how they can help protect it. Virtual Department of Conservation rangers feature throughout the zone to engage and educate guests.

The new attraction is just one of many at Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s, which includes sand tiger sharks, rescued sea turtles undergoing rehabilitation, New Zealand’s only colony of sub-Antarctic penguins, hundreds of fish species, and many more marine creatures to inspire guests to love the ocean and its inhabitants.

For tickets and opening times go to www.visitsealife.com/auckland/