Butterfly House & Orchid Garden

---

This is quite a tricky attraction to blog about. If I had been on my own, I would be writing differently but I wan't alone. I had my daughter and 3 year old granddaughter with me.



I am passionate about butterflies and my nickname is The Butterfly Lady due to the work I do with Monarch Butterflies so I was very keen to visit the Butterfly Garden. The lovely lady at the desk pointed me towards a tiny fan heater inside that would dry out my camera lens as it would fog up in the high humidity. Yes, my camera hated the humidity and no, the fan heater didn't help. I eventually gave up and shoved it in my pocket and tried my iPhone instead. This worked better. My camera finally sorted itself out, right about the moment my granddaughter had had enough and wanted to leave!



One thing we learned was that you need to go round the enclosure many times as you see different butterflies each time. They are stunningly beautiful plus there are pools of fish and exotic plants everywhere.



So why do I find this a tricky blog to write? Well, if I had been on my own, I could have stayed much longer and I could have finally taken some good photos. I could have chilled out on one of the seats and enjoyed watching the butterflies. But with a toddler, things were different. She didn't want to sit down and soak up the atmosphere. She didn't appreciate the exotic plants. She didn't want to take photos. But - yes, she had fun. The movement and colours of the butterflies fascinated her.



Cost: $12 for an adult, $6 for children. If I had been on my own, I would have been okay with the $12. But I felt $6 for a 3 year old was a bit steep. In comparison, our next stop was the Ngatea Water Gardens where we spent far more time, which had much more to interest a toddler (and the adults) and they only charge $10 for an adult with a 3 year old being free.



So, would I go back? Absolutely. But I would be better prepared and make sure I had more time there and either make sure I am there just to take photos OR to enjoy watching my granddaughter watch the butterflies.

---

Photos

Misted up lens
It almost looks like I used a special filter to get this effect. No - my camera lens was finally starting to clear!