Gold Coast - Wildlife Carrumbin Sanctuary

On our way to Surfers Paradise from the Gold Coast airport, we passed a Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary signboard and noticed that it is one of the many theme parks promoted. The Currumbin suburb is just 5 to 10 minutes from the airport.

So we decided to include the wildlife sanctuary as one of the things to do for this trip. Besides, the car rental also includes a 20% discount voucher on the entrance fee for two persons.

Sadly, we could not take advantage of it. The forgetful me did not bring it with us on the day we visited. Here's a cost saving travel tip; always check for discount vouchers to any destination places, theme parks or restaurants, before leaving the hotel room for the day.

One of the first things we notice as we enter into the sanctuary compound was the wide open space with many lizards running around the place to greet us, Welcome! or so it seems. This open space is before the ticket booth and is where you may experience, for free, the feeding of wild Rainbow Lorikeet held twice a day. It was a practise dated back to when the sanctuary started.

A bit of history; the sanctuary was opened as the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary by Alex Griffiths in 1947 as a scheme to stop the local lorikeet population destroying his flower plantations. Today, the sanctuary is 27 hectares in size with lush eucalypt and rainforest trees within.

The sanctuary has one of the largest collections of Australian native species in the world. Included as part of its exhibits are the Dingos, Tasmanian Devils, a reptile house and the largest walk-through aviary in the southern hemisphere.

It also has a miniature railway that started in 1964. Still in good working order and a popular means of transportation around the sanctuary. It sure beats walking. Stop at Kangaroo Crossing and you can mingle with the kangaroos or emus before you head up a slope to the reptile house or aviary.

Included with the ticket is the must see, Flight Bird Show. You just have to plan your walk around the time of the show. Catch the train back to the location of the show, if you find yourself at the other end of the sanctuary.

Here's a short clip of a bird of action, from the show. Enjoy!