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Adelaide’s corpse flower is about to bloom – and thousands are expected to line up for the smell

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy
One year on from Putricia’s bloom, Adelaide is officially on corpse flower watch.

One of the world’s rarest (and stinkiest) flowers is growing fast at Adelaide Botanic Garden, and its long-awaited bloom could happen any day now.

A giant titan arum, affectionately nicknamed ‘Smellanie’, is rapidly approaching bloom at Adelaide Botanic Garden , and horticulturists are bracing for crowds in the thousands once it finally opens.

The notoriously foul-smelling plant, officially known as Amorphophallus titanum, but more commonly known as a corpse flower, has surged to an eye-watering 191 centimetres tall, growing another six centimetres in a single day. With daily updates, livestreams and mounting hype across social media, anticipation is reaching fever pitch.

And when it blooms, it will not be subtle.

Why this bloom is such a big deal

Titan arum or Amorphophallus Titanum at the botanical garden
The corpse flower only blooms for one to two days. (Image: Getty Images / Robert Buchel)

Corpse flowers are famous for two things: their enormous size and their powerful odour, often likened to rotting flesh. The smell is strongest during the first 24 hours of flowering and is designed to attract pollinating insects in the wild.

The catch? This spectacle only lasts one to two days, and the plant can take 15+ years between blooms, making each flowering a genuine once-in-a-blue-moon event.

According to the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia, fewer than 1000 corpse flowers remain in the wild in Sumatra. That rarity, combined with the plant’s brief flowering window, means cultivated blooms like this one are closely watched around the world.

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Thousands expected to visit

When Smellanie finally opens, Adelaide Botanic Garden expects huge crowds, with visitor numbers potentially surging into the tens of thousands over just a few days.

Adelaide isn’t the first Australian city to be swept up in corpse flower mania. In 2025, Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden drew massive crowds when its corpse flower ‘Putricia’ bloomed, sparking long queues, livestreams and wall-to-wall media coverage.

The flower is housed inside the Bicentennial Conservatory, where staff are preparing for long queues, peak-time congestion and a wave of curious locals, tourists, families and plant obsessives eager to experience the bloom in person.

The Garden has confirmed that viewing will be free, with visitors able to queue daily while the flower is in bloom. Staff will manage crowd flow, and those unable to attend in person can follow along via a livestream and social updates .

Will today be the day?

As of the latest update, Smellanie has not yet bloomed, but all signs suggest it is getting close.

“Will Monday be the day?" the garden teased on Instagram, as fans tuned in from around the country to watch the plant’s progress centimetre by centimetre.

Once the outer sheath starts to loosen and the central spike opens, things move quickly. The smell intensifies, the crowds swell, and Adelaide gets a very short window to witness one of nature’s strangest spectacles.

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What to know before you go

Planning to join the queue? Here’s what to expect:

  • The smell is strongest during the first 24 hours of flowering
  • Blooming typically lasts between 24 and 48 hours
  • Viewing takes place inside the Bicentennial Conservatory
  • Entry is free, but wait times are likely during peak periods
  • Livestreams are available for those who can’t attend in person

More than just a novelty

While the corpse flower’s stench tends to steal the spotlight, the bloom is also a significant conservation milestone.

Adelaide Botanic Garden has been cultivating titan arums since 2006, helping to safeguard the species through careful horticulture, research and propagation. Each successful bloom offers valuable insight into a plant that remains poorly understood in the wild.

Still, let’s be honest. Most people are coming for the smell. When Smellanie finally blooms, Adelaide will briefly become home to one of the most talked-about flowers on Earth. Blink and you’ll miss it. Hold your nose and you won’t.

Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her time at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? Tasmania and The Kimberley.
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From coast to bush: these are Gippsland’s best hikes

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Video credit: Tourism Australia

    From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.

    I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.

    For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland , and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.

    Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.

    The best coastal hikes in Gippsland

    sunset at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)

    Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.

    a couple on Mount Oberon
    Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit , which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.

    a golden sand beach at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)

    You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk , even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.

    the George Bass Coastal Walk
    George Bass Coastal Walk trails for seven kilometres along clifftops. (Image: Visit Victoria/Time Out Australia)

    Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk , usually done over seven days.

    the Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland
    Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    The best bush hikes in Gippsland

    the Baw Baw National Park
    The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.

    Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.

    Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.

    Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.

    The best cultural hikes in Gippsland

    the Mitchell River National Park, Gippsland
    Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.

    As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park , along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.

    the bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park
    Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail , a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.

    the ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park
    The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)

    Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park , known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Staying there

    the WildernessRetreats in The Prom
    Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)

    Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.

    Eating there

    the Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.

    Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.

    a seafood feast at Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.

    Video credit: Tourism Australia