For weeks, I've been trying to get our kids excited about going to the Auckland Zoo.
It has all your typical zoo animals -- giraffe, rhino, monkeys, lion -- with the added bonus of being home to the little blue penguins that are native to New Zealand. (And if a little blue penguin doesn't sound adorable, I don't know what does!) But for some reason, these contrary kids of mine just don't seem that interested.
It's probably because when we lived in the D.C. area we went to the zoo A LOT -- at least once a month. The National Zoo, part of the Smithsonian organization, is awesome and completely FREE. About 20 minutes from our home in Northern Virginia, it was the perfect place to escape to on weekends when the kids needed to get out of the house. So I guess we spoiled them a bit.
This past Saturday I tried to get the family to go to the zoo here. It just wasn't happening. We even drove down by it and found a fairly decent parking spot (good work, Shane!) but the kids were still so "meh" about the adventure -- which would have cost us about $70 -- that I kiboshed the whole thing and made everyone walk around the harbourfront instead.
Kids were grumpy. Shane was sick. Not our best day.
But while on the water, I picked up a tourist guide to Auckland, and lo and behold, I discovered a family-friendly attraction on the outskirts of Auckland that pretty much ticks all the boxes for young girls and boys. Petting zoo? Check. Train ride? Check. Butterfly garden? Check. Playground, ice cream shop, bug exhibit? Check, check, check.
Oh, and did I mention the dinosaurs??
This magical land is called Butterfly Creek.
It's in South Auckland a few miles from the airport, so about 25 minutes from our home in Te Atatu. When I told the kids we could check it out the next day -- if they behaved -- they screamed with joy, went to bed on cue and got up the next morning, dressed and ready to go, without so much as a peep. Now that's excitement.
And the day turned out to be a ton of fun. We paid about $80 for our family to access all of the attractions and take a ride on the mini train. The price was worth it, as the park is well maintained, the exhibits really nicely done and the staff friendly and helpful. (Check out our video for the full experience.)
I'd say Butterfly Creek knows what it's doing. And the kids just eat it up.
Guess those little blue penguins will have to wait another day.
