Train Rides · Auckland Airport

Butterfly Creek

4.34,851 Google reviews

Toddlers (0–3)Younger kids (4–8)Older kids (9+)Outdoors

How muchTe utu: $16.5–$33
Their siteHe pārongo atu anō: butterflycreek.co.nz
Last checkedI tirohia: Last checked 9 Aug 2026

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LocationTe wāhi

Auckland Airport

Directions Website

What it is

Butterfly Creek earns its reputation as more than a zoo by layering genuinely different worlds into a single outing. Children can wander through a tropical butterfly house, stand face-to-face with a 24-metre Diplodocus in Dinosaur Kingdom, watch meerkats and otters, and connect with farm animals at Buttermilk Farm — all without leaving the park.

The Dinosaur Kingdom alone tends to stop families in their tracks: more than 50 life-size animatronic dinosaurs include a Triceratops guarding her young from a T-Rex and a Velociraptor that earns its reputation. Kiwi Forest offers a quieter, eyes-adjusting-to-the-dark moment before the energy picks up again on the train ride and in the free playground.

School holiday programmes give animal-obsessed kids the chance to spend a session as a Junior Keeper — feeding, cleaning, and caring for animals alongside the keepers. A café and kids' birthday party packages round out what is a genuinely full day out for families.

What other parents say

Raeoni Jackson3 months ago

While it isn't very large it's still a great place to take the kids and spend some time at. A range of things to look at, reasonably priced for entry also. They have a great food area to eat at and playground area for the kids to play on too. Spend some time going around looking at all the different species they have then finish it off with maybe a train ride around the place then have something to eat and give the kids sometime on the playground before calling it a day. Not even 10 minutes away from the new manawa mall and a nice mini golf right next door also. Plenty of parking easily accessible. I arrived on a Sunday morning just after opening so was still plenty of parking. When we left sometime after lunch time parking filled up quickly. So plan ahead. Pics are just to give u an idea of what u can see. But there are much more to see.

Pandora6 months ago

Great place to visit with the kids. The feeding schedule of the animals keeps you on track to get your car at around the park. There's lots of shade to be found throughout the place and taking coins may be handy with being able to purchase food to feed the farm animals. There were also chicks for sale when we were there.

Read 3 more reviews ↓

Robyn Simpsona month ago

I hadn't been to Butterfly Creek for years but took my partner for his birthday and was pleasantly surprised by how different it was and how many attractions it had. The admission price was also really reasonable and the encounters during the day were great. We saw the crocodile being fed 🐊and close ups of the tarantula 🕷and reptiles 🐢🦎 Of course the Buttetfly house was magical ✨️ with hundreds of tropical butterflies 🦋 fluttering all around you. But Butterfly Creek is so much more than just butterflies......with monkeys 🐒 meerkats, lace monitors, an aquarium,🐠 a small train that encircled the park 🚇 buttermilk farm where you can feed the animals 🐇🐐🐄 a hidden playground for children 🤸‍♀️ and the Dinosaur walk 🦖 conplete with a Mythical Creature exhibition 🦄 and life size dinosaurs that move and 'roar'...it was amazing! ✨️ even the cafe menu was delcious 🍔🍟🥤Highly recommend for all ages, they even do birthday packages and their gift shop is gorgeous with a huge array of reasonably priced souvenirs 🛍

kj w3 months ago

Came as a treat from Christchurch for my birthday and I am so so glad I did. I was worried that the "dinosaurs" might be cheesy but seeing families enjoy it made me happy. I have a phobia of butterflies yet I went thru the butterflies. The animals all looked happy and the farmyard with the goats and their activity centre/enrichment was next level it was so cool, sadly with it being hot and the goats sleeping I didn't get to see them use it. yes I used the train and it was great. This place is great and yip would go again. good signage, close to the airport, the staff were friendly and efficient , keepers always smiling and the food was pretty good, I loved my visit

Maddison Murphy4 months ago

I did the tamarin experience on 28/03 and although it was quite short- it was so fun. The emperor tamarins are so cute and curious, they were happy to eat out of my hands. The keeper and the volunteer (i forgot their names) who came with me were great! Friendly and informative. The volunteer took some amazing photos of me interacting with them, thank you to her! The other highlight was definitely the butterfly house. Pros: hands on experiences with some of the animals (butterflies, feeding farm animals). Keepers are very informative and seem super passionate (I listened to the kiwi talk with Sam(?) which was great.). The big dinosaur statues have some that are animatronic which is cool Cons: The park itself is a bit small and I covered the rest of it in about an hour. The enclosures for the crocodiles were also a bit small and a little sad looking and food options are limited Still a 5 star experience with the encounter - rating probably would be lower without it

Reviews from Google.