Butterfly Creek – Auckland's Secret Treasure
Where can you find NZ’s only giant salt water crocodiles, luminous butterflies at Australasia’s premier tropical butterfly house, an aquarium brimming with colourful fish, life-sized dinosaurs at Dinosaur Kingdom and lots of cute furry friends at Buttermilk Farm?
Welcome to Butterfly Creek, Auckland, New Zealand, your gateway to some of the most fun things for families to do in the City of Sails. At this family-friendly attraction, anyone can enjoy an immersive experience that won't break the bank.
Keytag Bonus: Receive 15% off individual Day Passes at Butterfly Creek. Book online at Butterfly Creek and use Promo Code OMEGA15. (May not be used with any other promotion).
Where is Butterfly Creek?
A convenient two-minute drive or a ten-minute walk from Auckland International Airport, Butterfly Creek has a huge range of attractions. You can cuddle cute farm animals at Buttermilk Farm and see mermaids, unicorns, and dragons come alive in the Mythic Creatures exhibit. You'll also find massive salt water crocodiles named Scar and Goldie, playful meerkats, otters and tamarin monkeys, New Zealand's giant weta, tarantulas, and lizards.
Butterfly Creek boasts two fun playgrounds that are sure to delight your children. While the kids play or ride the train, you can sit and relax at the café. You can access the café and the courtyard playground without a day pass, so you can drop in for a drink or a bite to eat and let the kids need burn off some energy in the playground.
Opening Hours
Term Time
Monday and Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday to Friday: 9:30 am-4:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 9:30 am-5:00 pm
School Holidays
Monday to Sunday: 9:30 am-5:00 pm
Visit the Tropical Butterfly House - Image Source: Butterfly Creek
Tropical Butterfly House, Farm Animals and More
Butterfly Creek offers a unique experience for the family to meet a massive variety of NZ creatures. Butterfly Creek is also a fun educational day out for schools and Early Childhood Education centres.
Animal welfare is a huge part of Butterfly Creek's excellent reputation. For example, the highly intelligent Asian Small-Clawed Otters require daily enrichment activities to simulate their natural foraging behaviour. Watch these clever otters sniff out their food—hidden by the keepers in unique ‘puzzles’ around their open-air enclosure.
The Butterfly Creek team is trained to ensure the animals are protected in the best possible conditions and maintain the safety of all visitors.
Feed the animals in Buttermilk Farm - Image Source: Butterfly Creek
Come and Check out the Creek’s Most Popular Attractions
When you arrive at Butterfly Creek, pick up a map from the friendly ticketing staff. The map includes a list of daily encounters, including scheduled feeding times and interactive experiences.
Get involved with these fantastic interactive shows and exhibits:
Kiwi Forest
Visit Kiwi Forest to encounter New Zealand’s most iconic national treasure — cherished native kiwi duo, Pikelet and Barkley. The indoor nocturnal house is the highlight of Kiwi Forest and is designed with a sophisticated lighting system that masterfully mimics the ambience of a nocturnal environment. Watch the adorable native kiwi through the generously sized viewing window.
Salt water crocodiles
Come and meet Scar and Goldie—NZ's only salt water crocodiles. Watch the 1 pm show to learn about the unique features of saltwater crocodiles and the staff feed Scar or Goldie.
Daily Croc Show - Image Source: Butterfly Creek
Dinosaur Kingdom
Travel back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. The Dinosaur Kingdom is an immersive prehistoric-themed attraction featuring over 50 dinosaurs, including realistic life-sized animatronics. Look out for the triceratops mother guarding her offspring against a menacing T-Rex and marvel at the towering 24-metre Diplodocus overhead.
Aquarium
At the Butterfly Creek aquarium, you'll encounter captivating tropical and freshwater fish. Children can explore the marine coral aquaria to spot Nemo the Clownfish and his dad Marlin, playfully darting around their anemone home.
Mythic Creatures
Witness the enchanting world of legendary creatures at this magical exhibit. Children can encounter a magnificent array of dragons, unicorns, serpents, aliens, mystical mermaids, the fabled Kraken and other awe-inspiring beings.
Buttermilk Farm
Kids can get close and personal with cute farm animals at this interactive farm. They’ll love the chance to hold and gently pet rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, alpacas, sheep, pigs and chickens.
Exotic Animals
Enjoy watching the playful Otter family swim and frolic, or the inquisitive meerkats keeping watch over their habitat. There are two species of tamarin to meet during your visit – the Cotton-top tamarins with their spiky hairstyles, and the family of Emperor tamarins who are easily identified by their long white whiskers that look like a moustache.
There are encounters scheduled throughout the day where the keepers will provide and educational and enriching element to your day, so you can visit at almost any time to experience the exhibits.
Butterfly Creek is also a great destination during rainy weather. Get out of the house and escape into Auckland’s premier tropical butterfly house. It's the perfect spot for anyone looking for a fun-filled day in NZ that doesn't cost the earth. Butterfly Creek's indoor venues are great for birthday functions without worrying about the weather. Take the stress out of birthdays and enjoy the occasion.
Amazing Activities for the School Holidays
Looking for great experiences in Auckland over the school holidays? Check out Butterfly Creek’s fun and engaging Junior Keeper programme.
The Junior Keeper programme allows kids to go behind the scenes and become a keeper for the day. Sticking to Butterfly Creek’s values of education and animal welfare, the Junior Keeper programme is perfect for any young animal lover.
Driving to Butterfly Creek
Visiting Auckland City? Book a rental vehicle at Omega Rentals Auckland Airport and enjoy a two-minute drive to Butterfly Creek at 10 Tom Pearce Drive, Auckland, New Zealand. Keep kids happy and search for online deals or save even more with their great value annual passes.
Group pricing and individual day passes are also available. So, what are you waiting for? Meet Scar, Nemo and the gang to enjoy a fun day out for the whole family. For planning information, entry prices, and to book your visit to Butterfly Creek, click here.
Keytag Bonus: Receive 15% off individual Day Passes at Butterfly Creek. Book online at Butterfly Creek and use Promo Code OMEGA15. (May not be used with any other promotion).