Botanic Gardens Night Walk
Council has granted approval for the delivery of a Botanic Gardens Night Walk at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Designed with the environment in mind using specialised lighting technology, the walk will take you on a journey through the botanic gardens after dark, using storytelling to connect visitors to nature.
Similar experiences have featured in cities across the world, including Canada, Japan, Singapore and France, delivering shows in botanical gardens, zoos, national parks and heritage sites. Within Australia, this immersive experience has operated as ‘Lightscape’ in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens as part of Brisbane Festival, and ‘Light Cycles’ and ‘Resonate’ within the Adelaide Botanic Gardens as part of Illuminate Adelaide.
The night walk is an exciting new opportunity for Brisbane, creating more to see and do at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Opening hours
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha opens daily from 8am-6pm in summer and 8am-5pm in winter, welcoming more than 1.4 million visitors each year.
The night walk will activate the botanic gardens after dark, operating a maximum 150 nights over the course of the year on Friday and Saturday nights from 6-11pm. Additional shows may be added during school holiday periods.
Entry to the night walk will be ticketed, with 4-6 sessions per night. Each session runs for approximately 50-60 minutes, commencing every 10 minutes.
Opening the botanic gardens after dark for the night walk is expected to increase the number of visitors to the gardens by 10-15 percent each year.
Where will the night walk be located?
The night walk will be centrally located along parts of the existing 1km Gardens Explorer Trail in the gardens, operating in less than 1 percent of the site.
The Gardens Explorer Trail is the primary walking path and main attraction area of the botanic gardens.
Visitors will be guided along the trail passing through 8 light show stations, each with an approximate 100-metre radius zone from one station to the next.
How will visitors to the night walk get to the gardens?
Entry to the main car park will open to visitors for the night walk and a shuttle bus service will operate to and from the Brisbane CBD, departing approximately every 10 minutes.
As part of the ticketing process, visitors will be made aware of parking availability and restrictions and will be given the option to pre-purchase parking at the gardens or utilise the free shuttle bus service.
The night walk will not operate on nights when events are held at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
A full transport management plan can be found on Council’s development application portal.
How will environment and wildlife considerations be managed?
The night walk will be carefully designed and installed to fit in with the environment.
No plants or trees will be removed and the installations will be hidden and camouflaged from view, creating no obstacles or impediment to normal operations.
Specialised, localised and directional lighting technology will contain light and noise within each station. The equipment will be strategically installed on-ground within 100-metre radius zones from one station to the next.
Ticketing will limit the number of visitors through the gardens at any one time and minimise movement into the night.
A full ecological assessment and management plan can be found on Council’s development application portal.
Who will operate the night walk?
The development application for the light show night walk at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha was approved on 28 July 2023 and is valid until 27 October 2029.
Council will continue looking at options to deliver the night walk at the gardens.