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You are here: Home / Travel / The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary – Kuranda near Cairns

The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary – Kuranda near Cairns

April 14, 2017 by Bryony @ Coasting Australia 3 Comments

A visit to Cairns would not be complete without a trip ‘up the hill’ to Kuranda. Known as ‘the village in the rainforest’, Kuranda is just a 30 minute scenic drive from Cairns. There is lots to see and do – with one of the highlights being the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary where you can get up close with thousandsĀ of butterflies and moths living in their natural rainforest habitat.

A beautiful butterfly sitting on a leaf

The sanctuary, the largest of it’s kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is an all weather experience. It is open from 9.45am to 4:00pm every day of the year except Christmas Day and is located in the heart of the village.

All of the species you will meet are bred on site in the laboratory which you can visit as part of the free guided tour. Here you can see caterpillars and cocoons in all stages of their life cycle.

Baby, mum and nanna sitting in front of a butterfly display

The sanctuary has something for all ages, from immersive educational exhibits to bright and sensory experiences. You can walk through the rainforest environment at leisure or you can take a guided and informative walk through the aviary with one of the lovely staff who can answer all your lepidopterology questions (like how to spell that word!)

My absolute favourite thing about visiting is how friendly the butterflies are. They will flutter curiously around your head and often land on visitors to say hello. The staff recommend wearing red or hot pink to attract the most attention!

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You can also visit the UV room to see life through the eyes of a butterfly, learn about butterfly myths and legends, inspect them in fine detail under the microscope, see hundreds of breeds preserved in the museum (can you find the penguin and the pussy cat in the display?) and learn loads of butterfly trivia throughout your visit.

A map of the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Australia, Explore Tropical North Queensland, Travel

Comments

  1. Briee Hargreaves says

    April 15, 2017 at 5:37 am

    A kaleidoscope of butterflies! Perfect name really!

    Reply
  2. tia vanderneut says

    April 20, 2017 at 9:54 am

    Kaleidoscope /swarm ?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Reasons why Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is one of the top family adventures in Cairns - Plus WIN a family pass! - Northern Aussie Mum says:
    June 5, 2017 at 8:47 am

    […] village of Kuranda where there are loads of family friendly things to do. Our highlights are the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary and Rainforestation – coming soon on the blog is our top tips for a family day out in Kuranda […]

    Reply

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