1. Explore

If you’re fortunate enough to live near the coast, every day is an opportunity to show your love for the sea.

Go to the beach, feel the sand between your toes, smell the salt in the air, listen to the crashing of the waves and remember: we live by the grace of water.

While you’re there, why not do a quick beach cleanup? Studies have shown that it’s best to stop pollution at the source.

Here at the Two Oceans Aquarium, you can explore the magnificence of South Africa’s two oceans – the Indian and the Atlantic – through our exhibits.

2. Experience

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Take another deep breath… Those breaths were brought to you by the ocean. By the trees.

Think about that cup of coffee or tea you drank this morning. Or the water you washed your face with. Think about how you got here this afternoon. And what did you have for lunch?

Our busy lives direct our focus away from the fact that our existence depends completely on nature. All living beings, including humans, animals and plants, are part of the complex web of life. Each one can only thrive if others are also able to do so.

By loving the ocean we acknowledge that we cannot live without it. Interacting with the ocean shows that we love ourselves, because it is part of who we are as human beings. 

3. Engage

By choosing to live smart we recognise the rights of all present living beings to live a quality life of sufficiency, without compromising future generations while remaining within the carrying capacity of the Earth.

What does it mean to live smart? It means to leave only footprints and take only photographs. And to tread lightly as we do so.

To commit to environmentally-friendly lifestyles, for the greater good of not only ourselves, but also our ocean. To recycle, to reduce our use of plastic, to only eat sustainable seafood. To learn and continue to be inspired by the ocean, which not only sustains life on this planet, but acts as an endless source of joy and love, too.