Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is an animal and wildlife attraction at the Gold Coast, famous for its Rainbow Lorikeet feeding that began merely as a deterrent. By feeding the lorikeets, beekeeper and flower grower Dr Alex Griffiths found a way to keep the birds away from his flowers.
The Currumbin Bird Sanctuary opened in 1947 as a Gold Coast attraction with public lorikeet feeding displays. It became popular with locals and tourists and a have-to-go destination to tell stories about your travels to the Gold Coast and Queensland.
Currumbin Bird Sanctuary expanded over the years to include native mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and of course, birdlife. The park was handed over to the National Trust of Australia in the 1970s and to better reflect all the wildlife represented at the park, it renamed in the 1990s to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
You can still go to see the publicly open Lorikeet feeding at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The Lorikeet Feeding Arena is before entering into the paid section of the park, so you can go to this for free if you don’t want to enter the entire sanctuary.
Lorikeet feeding happens twice a day, in the morning from 8am to 9am, and again in the afternoon from 4pm to 5pm. Rainbow Lorikeets tend to build a routine for feeding opportunities so you are pretty much guaranteed to see them arrive.
Feeding trays are provided with a gold coin donation if you want to hold a tray to which the birds swarm to. The lorikeets can only be fed from these trays as the food is a formulated mixture approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Once inside the sanctuary, there is lots to see throughout the park.
Animals
- Binturong
- Capybara
- Cassowary
- Cotton-top Tamarin
- Crocodiles
- Dingos
- Eagle
- Echidna
- Emu
- Green Iguana
- Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroo
- Kangaroos and Wallabies
- Koalas
- Lorikeets
- Pelican
- Red Panda
- Ring-tailed Lemur
- Retiles and Amphibians
- Tassie Devil
- Wombat
Encounters and Experiences
Like many major tourist attractions, there are additional experiences and encounters you can participate in. The prices vary, depending on the activity, some requiring an additional fee to the entry of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, some include entry when you purchase them.
Encounters with animals include:
- Koala Photo – meet a koala with a photo
- Koala Experience – learn about koalas in an enclosure and a photo to remember the experience
- High Koala-Tea – learn about koalas in an enclosure, a photo to remember the experience, and finish with High Tea
- Red Panda – up close and personal with the bushy-tailed Red Panda
- Capybara – up close and personal with the world’s largest rodent
- Cotton-top Tamarin – feed and meet the cute Cotton-tops
- Dingo Walk – take a dingo for a walk around Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary’s park
Additional experiences include:
- Treetop Challenge – An attraction in itself, includes entry to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Treetop Challenge is also at the Big Macadamia Nut
near the Big Pineapple , and at Thunderbird Park in Mount Tamborine. - Twilight Tour – experience the sanctuary after closure for a twilight tour (December and January)
- Behind the Scenes Tour – backstage access with an animal keeper to the training, rehabilitation, and wildlife department, as well as VIP seating for the flight bird show
Wild Island
Wild Island is an adventure and wet park for kids up to 12, included with the normal entry to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Great for those warm Queensland days, kids can cool off and explore Wild Island’s water jets, streams and waterfalls.
Dry play equipment is available too for those who prefer not to get wet.
National Trust Australia
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the National Trust Australia (Queensland). If you have a National Trust (Queensland) membership, entry to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is included.
The cost is higher but you can come back again, complimentary parking, and get discounts on food. You also get access to other National Trust Queensland locations and discounts on entry to National Trust locations in other states.
