Looking for your next animal attraction? Want to treat your family and friends to a picnic, with a glorious view of the Glasshouse Mountains? Perhaps you just want to have a chat with a bird and have it sit on your head for a spell.
Don’t we all!
Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World is the place to be! 23 acres of gardens, walking tracks, animal friends and places to sit and have a coffee in style. How many birds can you fit in your handbag on the way out? None!
Unless they’re plush toys, in which case – go nuts in the gift shop!
Who doesn’t love birds? Birds make the world go round. They manage the Internet, design the latest Parisian fashions, and even ensure the oceans tide on time. Well … at least I assume they do. Someone has to, and birds are too mysterious and clever to just be sitting in trees all day, saying ‘ello if you offer them a cracker.
So where’s the best place to get the most bird for your beak? The Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World of course!
The Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World are open 7 days a week, every day of the year except for Christmas Day – when I assume they’re helping Santa distribute gifts to all the good children.
The Gardens are just over an hour’s drive north of Brisbane. Nod your respects as you exit Steve Irwin Way off the Bruce Highway and you’re on your way to your feathered friends.
We visited the Gardens on a Tuesday, and hadn’t pre-booked a Bird World tour. Booking ahead is recommended though, if you’re planning on visiting during peak times or with a group. When you visit, you have the choice of 2 different entry options. Prices below are current at the time of our visit. Check out their website for any changes:
If it’s within your budget, we definitely recommend that you pay extra for the Aviary entry. The Aviary can only be entered via a guided tour, as the birds fly free as part of an interactive experience. There are Family Passes and Annual Passes as well that will save you some dollars.
You can roam around the gardens and see the Farm Friends (Mediterranean miniature micro donkeys, miniature goats, baby-doll sheep, miniature pigs and lots of chicken and roosters) without a tour. Food for your Farm Friends can be picked up in the gift shop. Fair warning – they go crazy for the food!
Spend the day in the gardens, giggling and pointing at the flowers and mountains as much as you like – they’re open from 9 until 4:30 daily!
Bird World is suitable for all ages and is wheelchair-friendly, however the ground is covered in gravel and it might be hard to push heavier wheelchairs. There were families with prams in our tour group who appeared to have no issues, though we didn’t offer to push their children.
The roads and walkways around the gardens can be steep, so there are electric golf carts that you can hire to give your pins a rest. The staff can also give you a lift via a buggy to and from Bird World and the Cafe, free of charge, which is a lovely addition.
We didn’t hire a buggy this visit, but did give ourselves plenty of time to walk back up the hills to be on time for our Aviary tour. Even though we are in the absolute peak of physical fitness … *coughs*.
Enjoy the free ‘Feathered Friends’ area just near the Cafe and Entry. A lovely and knowledgeable staff member gave us the low-down on the birds staring at us, and let us get up close and personal with a few. It’s a wonderful introduction to the Gardens.
If you’ve booked in for an Aviary tour, you may have a wait before you head to the check-in point for your scheduled tour time. Grab yourself a coffee and a lemon tart from the Cafe and enjoy it in one of the gazebos looking over the Glasshouse Mountains. We had a chat to a lovely local Maleny couple who were visiting Bird World for the first time, courtesy of a family gift voucher. It’s often the experiences in our own backyards that we put off until last!
The Aviary tours last for about 50 minutes and you’re taken around by experienced birdkeepers who tell you all about the variety of birds and what makes them tick. You can ask the guide to let you out at any time, if you get over-excited and need a bird break.
Our guide was wonderful and you have plenty of time to enjoy the birds and interact with them in a safe and supervised way. Watch your feet, as some of the birds like to walk on the ground and investigate your toes!
Before the tour kicks off, there’s a short introductory video to watch, that warns you to remove all jewellery, glittery items and hats with buttons on the top. The birds like to play with these items and are very curious. There’s a secure place to leave your handbags, hats or personal items before going into the Aviary, and some tape to put over your jewellery if you don’t want to take it off or have it stolen by an avian mastermind.
If you’re not a fan of birds landing on you, there are feather dusters that you can carry and hold over your head or use to gently brush the birds off you. The dusters apparently keep the birds away, however they’re not a guarantee. Some birds appeared to love the dusters. Everyone in our group though – even those nervous at first – were eventually happy to have a bird on them for a short time. No biting or crying on either side.
There are 5 walk-through aviaries, home to over 600 native and exotic birds from around the world. Slowly walking through 5 different sections, allows you to appreciate the birds, take photos and listen to the guide without being rushed – we really enjoyed it!
Don’t be surprised if you get some seed in your hair, some lucky poo on your shoulder, or make a new best friend in one of the aviaries. It’s all part of the experience, and will make a great story for later!
The tour guides are great at making sure everyone gets a photo opportunity or a bird to say hello to if they’d like to.
We were told how clever some of the birds are. Able to hold conversations and understand quite a few words.
I felt a bit sorry for the birds that came to say hello to me, as I just kept repeating ‘ello, ‘ello, ‘ello – and they undoubtedly thought I was quite the poor conversationalist.
We were surprised how heavy the macaws are when they sit on your head! They don’t stay there long though, just enough time for you to take a picture and to spin slowly around to the person near you and say “Excuse me, do I have a macaw on my head?”.
When you’re finished in the Aviary, take a walk down to the Farm Friends area and spend a bit of time and pellets with the fleeced folk.
There are a lot of wonderful new feathered, furry and human friends to meet at the Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World.
Take your family, your loved-ones, that quiet person from your office that is probably a secret-agent and only ever seems to eat lettuce and raisin sandwiches for lunch. Everyone will enjoy their day, and you’ll make some new memories.
Who knows, you might even save the world.