Butterfly Creek (Auckland Airport)
If you have just landed at Auckland Airport and want to tick seeing Kiwis as soon as possible when landing in New Zealand - Butterfly Creek is just the place for you!
(Scroll to the bottom to find out how to access Butterfly Creek from Auckland City.)
A short distance from the International Airport and easily accessible either by public transport or on foot, you can find this little gem of a butterfly house that also hosts Dinosaur Kingdom, farm animals, alligators, salt water crocodiles, otters, bugs, monkeys and two brown kiwis!
The kiwi enclosure is brand new (opened mid December 2017) and hosts two brown kiwis - Tapu and Ipo.
Tip: caretaker advised the biggest chance of seeing the kiwis is between 10 am and 11:30 am as the two kiwis are the most active then.
Also check their daily schedule for daily animal encounters. We were there just in time to see and pet the bearded dragon.
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There are a couple of ways of how to get to the Butterfly Creek from Auckland City using public transport.
1) SkyBus ($18 one way/ $34 return) from Auckland City to the Airport + walk
2) SkyBus from Auckland City to the Airport + free airport shuttle
3) Train from Britomart to either Manukau or Papatoetoe + 380 Bus (make sure you get off the bus at the right stop so you don't end up walking there from the airport like we did :D) You can use AT Journey Planner to help you plan your trip with public transport. (cca $12 return, using AT HOP Card)