We saw Afrykarium under construction when we visited Wrocław Zoo last time. It was in September 2014. Since then we wanted to come back here. And here we are, two years later …
The new building of Afrykarium-Aquarium is located inside the Wroclaw Zoo. It is not possible to buy tickets only for that attraction (as you can do at Berlin Zoo, where tickets for the aquarium and zoo are separate). We bought a family ticket and went into the zoo area.
The building is located near the main entrance, where the ticket offices are. Inside the building, the same natural environments as those in Africa were recreated. In total, the complex has 19 pools, including tanks, coral reefs of the Red Sea, the depths of the Mozambique Channel pool (a shark was swimming there), hippos (River Nile), manatees, crocodiles and penguins.
The tour through Afrykarium follows a designated trail that initially passes through a part of the Oceanarium. Beautiful aquariums welcomed us with fish and coral reefs. Then we moved among the Nile hippos and through the jungle. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any maps — no zoo map or Afrykarium floor plan. So we were walking without information about how much was ahead of us.
In the aquarium, we were impressed by the size of the swimming pools. Justine even wanted to swim with the fish (if only it were possible).
A moment later, a large, seemingly empty swimming pool appeared before our eyes, and we couldn’t tell what animal was inside. Suddenly a hippopotamus swam towards us . Seeing this large hippopotamus floating and swimming in the water was a priceless sight. This heavy beast moved through the water like a butterfly. Did you know that in Greek, hippopotamus means ‘river horse’? First, we saw the hippos in the water, and a moment later outside the pool. They came out of the water because the keeper called them for feeding.
Moments later, we were in a long tunnel located 18 meters underwater. We were in the Mozambique Channel. Above us, sharks, turtles, and stingrays swam. Thick glass separates us from these dangerous animals and we could observe them at arm’s length.
The next section took us to the Congo jungle, the entrance to which is through a special gate/door – this is because the temperature and humidity inside are higher. A crocodile greeted us there — it was strange because it was hanging on a rock with its head at the window. Everyone wanted to take a photo with it and see if it was real.
During our visit, the penguins were in the outdoor enclosure. To see them, we had to go around the building. The children couldn’t wait to see them. Moments later, they were already naming them after characters from the cartoon “Penguins of Madagascar”.
We went out and explored the rest of the zoo’s paths. Along the way, we found a statue of the Hipoczyściciel dwarf, which stood at the old hippo building.
We went back to the hotel to rest, and later went for dinner. In the evening, we wanted to see the Multimedia Fountain show.