Tropical butterflies, saltwater crocodiles, dinosaurs, a train, monkeys, otters, parrots, kiwis… there’s so much to see and do at Butterfly Creek that your visit will be a lot longer than you imagined!
For visitors to Auckland, this is a fantastic place to keep the kids entertained while you take stock and get ready for the next leg of your holiday, or a great way to fit in one last memorable activity before you fly home. Aucklanders know it as a brilliant spot for a kids birthday party, and a regular request on the school holiday wishlist!
So what can you expect to find? Well, this is quite a tactile experience – with plenty of opportunities for the kids to get up close and personal with the animals and even take part in their care as a junior keeper. There are some exceptions of course – feeding Scar and Goldie, the resident crocs, is left to the experts – but these guys do put on a daily show at 1pm!
Tropical Butterfly House
With over 700 butterflies in residence and daily releases of newly hatched butterflies, there is always something new to see in the tropical butterfly house. Imported as pupae from hot tropical countries, the butterflies require a warm, humid environment, so this is a lovely place to be in winter. Butterflies are attracted to bright colours, so if you’re wearing red, blue, orange and even white – you may find they are quite happy to land on you, they will certainly be unafraid of your presence. Adding to the tropical ambience you’ll find tropical fish and water dragons in here, along with beautiful finches adding to the visual feast of colours on display.
Blue Morpho Butterfly, Photo Credit: Butterfly Creek
Meet Scar and Goldie, the Saltwater Crocodiles
These two guys were rescued in 2009 and brought to New Zealand from Australia where they had become a problem in the wild. Relocating them to this specially designed tropical billabong home saved their lives. Here they can sunbathe, swim, eat, sleep and entertain the visitors in their climate controlled quarters without getting into any mischief! Their keepers are very knowledgeable and it easy to see how attached they are to these battle scarred characters.
Scar and Goldie, the resident crocodiles at Butterfly Creek in Auckland, Photo Credit: Butterfly Creek
Behind The Scenes Encounters with a Tamarin Monkey
There are a variety of different behind the scenes encounters on offer at Butterfly Creek, and one of the newer ones is the opportunity to get up close and personal with the very entertaining little Cotton-Top Tamarin Monkeys. One of the very experienced keepers will take you into the monkeys’ enclosure and introduce you to the locals. You’ll be able to hand feed them while learning a lot about their personalities, their care and mannerisms. It’s a really special experience and often a highlight for visitors – as such it does get booked up so be sure to book at least a week in advance for this one.
This behind the scenes encounter is one of three encounters available at an additional cost, the others are with the otters and the parrots. However there are also 9 free encounters scheduled during the day and on arrival remember to pick up a copy of or download the daily encounters map showing where and when each one takes place, so you can plan your route around the park.
Hand feeding a cotton top tamarin money – Photo Credit: Butterfly Creek
Become a Junior Keeper for the Day!
This is a fantastic opportunity if you have a 7-12 year old animal lover in your house, or someone who thinks they might like to work with animals when they are older. It is only available during the school holidays and there is a minimum of 4, maximum of 6 keeper spots available each day – so plan ahead and apply for this one early. It’s a great birthday present or reward. They’ll learn so much about what it is like to be a zookeeper, taking part in the feeding of, caring for and playing with the animals at Butterfly Creek. No adults are allowed, which the kids think is especially great! Drop them off at 8.30am and pick them up again at 3.00pm – by then they’ll be exhausted but fizzing with excitement about their day. They’ll have been on the train, received a junior keeper certificate and have memories and photos galore!
Feeding the pigs in the Buttermilk Farm, as part of the Junior Keeper Program – Photo Credit: Butterfly Creek
School Holidays – Extra Activities and More Fun to be Had!
The school holidays are always a great time to plan a visit to Butterfly Creek, as there are extra adventures laid on for the kids. Check the school holiday section of the Butterfly Creek website for the specific events planned for each set of holidays. Popular school holiday attractions include a walking dino who will surprise the littlies as he makes his way around the park and plenty of arts and crafts activities in the Dinosaur Kingdom where the kids get to decorate amazing dinosaur and butterfly masks.
Location
Butterfly Creek can be found right next to Rocket Ropes and just along from the Treasure Island Adventure Golf complex on Tom Pearce Drive, Auckland Airport. It’s just a 2 min drive or 10-15 min walk from the terminals, most of the airport hotels and our Pegasus Rental Cars Auckland Airport location. So once you’ve collected your rental car at Auckland Airport, or right before you return it – schedule a visit to Butterfly Creek!