Yay for common sense! I’ve come across a Butterfly Sanctuary who has rightly installed numerous No Selfie Sticks signs and have banned their existence inside their premises! But it’s not to protect other selfie takers from having their eyes poked out!
I’ll segue onto that point in a minute, but first…
Are you into butterflies? Even if you’re not, or just ambivalent to them, it’s worth a visit to the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary which is located in Kuranda, near Cairns in northern Australia. At any one point, there are around 2,000 individual butterflies fluttering about, wanting to land on your head and on other entranced people.
As well as being home to Cane Toad World, funny crocodile warning signs Prawn Stars and bizarre big statues, Far North Queensland possesses a diverse range of plant and animal species which include strikingly colourful butterflies and moths.
The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary in Words and Pictures!
These pretty insects can be difficult to spot in the wild (having said that, I’ve seen a lot of them in my backyard growing up in Cairns), but the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is a good way to see them all in one place.
There’s loads of facts ready for you to read up on as you make your way around the Butterfly Sanctuary – including things such as the different life expectancies of the many species of butterflies the sanctuary is home to.
It makes you think that any butterfly or moth that you see is only going to be alive for a few days or weeks for your viewing pleasure!
Aww, that’s sad!
And I do like a place that mixes up teaching you a few things mixed in with a bit of humour. This fact below looks like the opening joke question you might receive if you’re a contestant on Millionaire Hot Seat!
But one of the most impressive displays are related to the Hercules Moth (scientific name Coscinocera hercules) – which is the largest moth in the world which has an average wingspan of around 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) – with the largest one ever documented measuring in at a whopping 36 centimetres (14.2 inches)!
At the time, there were some in cocoons waiting to be hatched but I found this impressive mating ritual photo which made me think there isn’t much difference between many of the world’s species at all..
Anyway, this leads me to….
The Funny No Selfie Stick Sign!
Yes, the advent of the smart phone has lead to the development of the selfie stick so you can immediately post shots of yourself on holiday to all of your social media accounts for the entire world to see.
Let’s just say that I’m not a big fan of them, but I love this sign that I spotted at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary:
Ha ha, the sign is there to protect some fragile wildlife! Which means this sign was probably put up because some poor butterfly collided with a waving selfie stick, so here’s to butterfly conservation!
Anyway, you can reach Kuranda and the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary either by driving up by road from Cairns, taking the Kuranda Scenic Railway, or as I did – via the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway (who provided me with this experiences. They’re all scenic ways to get there so do them all!
Just remember to keep your selfie stick in your pocket!
