Butterfly Creek

About

Butterfly Creek is two minutes from the airport and covers far more ground than the name suggests. The tropical butterfly house is kept at twenty-eight degrees and holds several hundred butterflies. Around it there are saltwater crocodiles, Scar and Goldie, alligators, cotton-top and emperor tamarins, meerkats, otters, a native kiwi forest, an aquarium, and Buttermilk Farm with lambs and rabbits to get close to. Dinosaur Kingdom runs more than fifty life-size animatronics, and a train loops the site. It is ZAA accredited and has been breeding and releasing wētāpunga since 2009. Daily keeper talks and animal encounters are worth timing your visit around. There is a cafe, barbecues, a playground and a large free car park, plus a free shuttle for ticket holders from the airport terminals.