Monday, June 30, 2014

In search of the elusive Ulysses Butterfly

Last year we purchased a Locals Annual Pass to four of the local attractions:  The Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas, Cairns Wildlife Dome in Cairns, The Rainforest Station at Kuranda and The Butterfly Sanctuary also at Kuranda.  Things being as things are, we only managed to get to two of the attractions.  Today was the last day before the pass expired so I made up my mind to go to Kuranda and visit the butterfly sanctuary.

Now, anyone who knows me well, understands why I love butterflies.

"Butterflies live moments not months, and have time enough"

We are blessed that we live in an area where we have a variety of butterflies in the garden, most notably the Ulysses and the Cairns Birdwing.  We have other varieties but they are the two that are most well known.  To photograph either of those butterflies requires lots of patience and a very fast shutter speed!  Particularly the Ulysses who never seems to stop.  So you would have thought that a visit to the Butterfly Sanctuary would have given me lots of opportunity to photograph the Ulysses, but, not on your nelly! They are just as fast in an enclosure as they are in the open.
These are my (poor) attempts:







The Ulysses is the biggest one in the above photo.  I stood for ten minutes waiting for it to open its wings and fly and of course just as I gave up and moved away, it also flew away!

These are some of the other beautiful butterflies within the confines of the sanctuary.





I had a very enjoyable time at the sanctuary and was surprised that I was there almost two hours.  After the sanctuary I wandered into the village for a bite to eat.  I still love the atmosphere of Kuranda and it was very  busy  (school holidays of course!) and my BLT sandwich ordered for lunch took over half an hour to arrive.  Still, it was tasty.


Here are some interesting facts regarding butterflies:



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