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Last week, we bid farewell to a Two Oceans Aquarium legend, Iain Robertson, the long-time PADI scuba instructor here at the Aquarium, as he has retired. Many of us, and certainly many of you, have fond memories of taking our first breaths underwater under the cheerful care and instruction of Iain. A generation of scuba divers has you to thank Iain - we'll miss you!Iain's relationship with the Aquarium began long ago, when Iain became a behind-the-scenes volunteer and diver soon after the Aquarium opened to the public for the first time, more than two decades ago. It wasn't long before Iain's Scuba School became a popular fixture here, with hundreds of people completing their PADI Open Water courses with Iain, and even more experiencing the underwater world for the first time thanks to Iain. Iain has been a professional PADI instructor for a long time, in fact, he's one of South Africa's longest active instructors, and we are certain that the underwater community will still be hearing from this legend.

Followers of the Two Oceans Aquarium's social media accounts have almost certainly see video clips of our rockhopper penguins waddling about the Aquarium, wearing bring pink and blue "socks". You may be wondering, why?

Turtles only survive if they are actually rescued in the first place. Getting them from some random stretch of coastline to the Aquarium is the real first challenge... In comes Tracy Whitehead, a long-time volunteer and the brainchild/coordinator/creator/top supporter of the Turtle Rescue Network - a semi-formal collaboration of over 500 people, coastal organisations, companies, friends, truck drivers, and more that work together to ensure that turtles found anywhere on the Western Cape coast between Cape St Francis and St Helena Bay by members of the public can get the help they need - that's 500 people Tracy has personally formed a connection with. Bet you didn't know that over 1 000km of coastline's turtle rescues are coordinated by one awesome volunteer!

26 years ago, a legend by the name of Vincent Calder, started working at the Two Oceans Aquarium, which was at that stage a construction site. Vincent started as an aquarist and employee No.1, but it was soon realised that he was multi-talented and would do very well getting the Aquarium’s Technical Department and Workshop off the ground. His technical abilities, unique skillset, and know-how were, and still remain to this day, invaluable.

From 13 to 16 May 2021, 70 women walked 100km through rain and sunshine to raise funds for conservation and other excellent causes as part of the annual Lighthouse 2 Lighthouse Ladies Charity Walk. These women come from all over South Africa, from ages 21 to 80, but they share one thing - a love of the coastline and a desire to enact change by supporting impactful causes, like the sea turtle conservation work being carried out by the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. Joining this epic trek were Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation teacher Kirshia Govender and turtle rehabilitation team member Alexandra Panagiotou. This was an excellent opportunity for Kirshia and Alex to show their mettle and also teach the other women participating about the conservation work they are involved with, and the issues affecting South Africa's endangered sea turtles.

Do you know a school that could benefit from a visit from the travelling Smart Living classroom? The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation's mobile classrooms are back on the road and ready to visit a school near you with free, educational and inspirational lessons!Outreach teacher Anzio is bringing lessons about sustainable living to schools in under-resourced communities around Cape Town - and he'd love to reach even more kids with this opportunity. Teacher Anzio has been doing this for a long time and he's learned one lesson that he wants to pass on to everyone - if you love nature and want to benefit from it, you need to learn how to live a sustainable life at home.

Meet the devil firefish, also known as the lionfish. Its scientific binomial name Pterois miles translates to "feathered soldier", which we think is a perfect name for a fish, which is easily recognisable for its venomous, spiny fins.

We've just welcomed a newcomer to the I&J Ocean Exhibit - Harry the green turtle! While his public debut might be new and exciting, Harry actually arrived at the Two Oceans Aquarium in October last year, and has been undergoing intense rehabilitation with the animal health team of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. Harry is now out of the woods, but he still needs plenty of time to rest and regain his strength before being released, and the I&J Ocean Exhibit is providing a big, safe space for him to do this!

Relax, rejuvenate and realign with yoga classes in the most serene setting of all: the Two Oceans Aquarium. Strike a pose and join us on a unique yoga journey with instructor Magenta, happening on Monday afternoons, for R220 per session via Quicket (members get 25% off - details below).

Seals are a group of semiaquatic mammals that are scientifically known as "pinnipeds". Resembling, slick, flippered dogs, seals are all carnivores and spend their time at sea hunting, and their time on land caring for their young, resting, healing and moulting. Their fin-like feet that enable them to swim gracefully underwater (but does not make them as gracefully on land) set them apart from other mammals. Like many coastal countries, South Africa is hole to resident seals and visitors from afar - so let's take a look at the seals you might encounter here!

Cape Town is currently the reigning champion of the City Nature Challenge, an international competition where everyday citizens try to take as many photos as possible of different species and upload them to the citizen science app iNaturalist. Our incredible biodiversity and team of volunteers enabled Cape Town to take the top spot in the "Most Species" and "Most Observations" categories when the competition was last run in 2019 - now we all need to help defend our title!