---
node: spot_gold_coast_currumbin_wildlife_sanctuary
type: spot
slug: currumbin_wildlife_sanctuary
destination: dest_gold_coast
title: "Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary"
lead: "Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a 27-hectare not-for-profit sanctuary and wildlife hospital in the southern Gold Coast, started in 1947 as a bird feeding station. It treats around 14,000 wild animals a year, which the entry fee supports."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_gold_coast_currumbin_wildlife_sanctuary.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Currumbin_Wildlife_Sanctuary.jpg"
image_author: "Lewi Hirvela"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 2.0"
---

## Overview

Beekeeper Alex Griffiths began feeding wild rainbow lorikeets to keep them off his flowers, and the crowds that came led to the sanctuary. It now keeps koalas, kangaroos, dingoes, crocodiles and Tasmanian devils in bushland enclosures, with a strong emphasis on rescue and release rather than display. The hospital is glass-walled, so treatment is visible.

## Highlights

The wild lorikeet feeding still runs twice daily and remains the best thing here — the birds are free-flying, not captive. The free-flight bird show and the koala talk are timed; check the board at the gate. A small train loops the site for anyone who finds the hills hard going.