Feeding the lorikeets at Currumbin Sanctuary

Coolangatta (including Bilinga, Tugun and Currumbin)
An older and more gracious part of the brash Gold Coast.
Located 102 km south of Brisbane, Coolangatta is the most southerly of all the holiday destinations on the Gold Coast. The border between New South Wales and Queensland is now so blurred at this point that people pass from one state to the next barely knowing they are doing so. A twin town with Tweed Heads, Coolangatta has a major airport behind Bilinga Beach, and there is a golf club, a leagues club and a major sporting complex in Boyd St, which runs through Tugun, just north of Coolangatta.

While it is true that Captain James Cook sailed up the Gold Coast in 1770 there are few points where he felt compelled to give the coastline a name. One of the places recorded by Cook is Point Danger which was aptly named and later became the site of a lighthouse - now a memorial to Cook. It lays claim to being the first lighthouse in the world to experiment with laser technology but the experiment was unsuccessful and it returned to the more conventional mirrors, magnifying glass and powerful electric lamps.

The area was later explored by John Oxley who discovered and named the Tweed River in 1823. The town was actually named after a ship , the Coolangatta, which was wrecked on the coast in the 1840s. It is said that the word was an Anglicised Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful place'.

By the 1880s the beauty of the area had been recognised and people started moving into holiday cottages. Some, of course, decided to stay. The arrival of the railway in 1903 gave the settlement a boost but it was really postwar mobility and the desire of people from New South Wales and Victoria to head to the sun that made Coolangatta a popular resort. It can claim to be one of the first resorts on the Gold Coast and consequently its age shows in some of the buildings and amenities. Unlike Surfers Paradise (which also predates the postwar boom) it has not been radically modernised. It is, therefore, still a resort which is orientated towards family holidays rather than the gaudy 'sophistication' of the destinations further north.

Things to see:  

Beaches and Foreshore
Between Coolangatta Beach and Snapper Rocks the coastline inclines in an east-west direction with protected beaches facing northwards. Coolangatta Beach and Greenmount Beach form a continuous strand backed by some foreshore greenery with picnic tables, a public telephone and markets along the foreshore on the second Sunday of the month. Greenmount forms the eastern end of the beach and Coolangatta the west. However, both have their own surf lifesaving clubs: the Coolangatta Beach club is on the foreshore, off Marine Parade, and the Greenmount club is by the corner of Marine Parade and Hill St.

To the immediate east of Greenmount Beach is a small rocky elevated headland topped by Pat Fagan Parkwhich offers fine views and picnic tables.

On the eastern side of the headland is Rainbow Bay which is but a smallish cove, although it has a surf lifesaving club and toilets. On its eastern side is Snapper Rocks, at which point the coast veers southwards again, opening out to Duranbah Beach which is a noted surfing location. Behind the beach is a foreshore area atop the rugged headland of Point Danger (named by Captain Cook), on which sits a lighthouse (at the end of Boundary St which forms part of the state border) which lays claim to being the first in the world to experiment with laser technology but the experiment - carried out in 1971 - proved unsuccessful and it returned to the more conventional mirrors, magnifying glass and powerful electric lamps. Nearby is an 18-metre memorial to Captain Cook which takes the form of a capstan moulded from cast-iron ballast jettisoned from the Endeavour and recovered in the 1960s. There are four supports that lie exactly on the compass points. There are picnic spots and a walk along the cliff-edge. Dolphins can sometimes be seen out to sea. There are views of the coastline from Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay.

At the western end of Coolangatta Beach is Kirra Point with its long breakwater forming a protective barrier for Coolangatta Beach. On the western side of Kirra headland is Kirra Beach which is the district's most notable surfing area, offering challenges for the expert, and smaller waves closer in to shore for beginners who can hire a long board for the day.

From this point the coastline veers in a north-westerly direction. The beach is continuous between here and the small mouth of Flat Rock Creek, although its name changes from Kirra Beach to North Kirra Beach to Bilinga Beach to Tugun Beach. There is a narrow foreshore area which slims to a sliver then virtually disappears at Bilinga Beach.

Each of these four designated beaches has its own surf lifesaving club: the Kirra Beach club is adjacent Marine Parade in Coolangatta, with toilets and public telephones nearby; the North Kirra club is on Pacific Parade, in Bilinga, with toilets and picnic tables nearby; the Bilinga Beach club is next to Golden Four Drive, in Bilinga, and the Tugun club is on O'Connor St, in Tugun, with toilets and telephones adjacent.

At the northern end of Tugun Beach is the small mouth of Flat Rock Creek which is named after a small rocky outcrop just south of the creek estuary. The creek forms the border between Tugun and Currumbin. Kropp Park lines the southern shore of the creek behind the beach while Currumbin Sanctuary (see entry below) sits on part of the northern shore.

On the northern side of Flat Rock Creek is Currumbin Beach which is noted for its rock pools and gentle surf. It is cut in two by Elephant Rock, on which sits the local surf lifesaving club (off Pacific Parade). At the northern end of the beach Currumbin Point, with its rock platform, extends outwards like a carbuncle, forming a natural breakwater at the mouth of Currumbin Creek which is popular with anglers. Behind Currumbin Point Pacific Parade coils westwards to follow the creek's southern shore. Inside the loop formed by the Parade's change of direction is Wallace Nicoll Park which has toilets, picnic tables and an air-sea rescue base.

For information on beaches and foreshore to the north see entry on Burleigh Heads and for information on the coastline to the south see entries on Tweed Heads and Fingal Head.

Feeding the lorikeets at Currumbin Sanctuary

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary
To the north of Coolangatta is Currumbin, made famous by the excellent Currumbin Sanctuary which claims to be the home of the world's largest captive collection of Australian native animals, including 1400 species of mammals, reptiles and birds. Noted for the rainbow lorikeets that descend twice daily at feeding time, it features 27 hectares of lush gardens and an array of wildlife including rare and endangered species, such as the southern cassowary, Goodfellow's tree kamgaroo, the Tasmanian devil and the bilby, as well as kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, freshwater crocodiles, koalas, emus, waterbirds and the largest sub-tropical, walk--through, rainforest aviary in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other attractions include a 2.5-km miniature railway, koala photo opportunities, live animal presentations, a children's playpark, an animal orphanage, a bush tucker garden, nocturnal guided tours with Aboriginal corroboree, Flora Gully (which contains a range of rare and endangered flora species in a recreated subtropical rainforest environment),educational programs, a gift shop, eateries, and the transmission of Aboriginal myths and legends through song, dance and fire-making.

Located on the Gold Coast Highway it is open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm daily and attracts about 500,000 visitors a year. The entrance charges, in November 2002, were $22 for adults, $14 for children aged 4-13, $16 for pensioners and group specials are available, tel: (07) 5534 1266 or mail@currumbin-sanctuary.org.au.

A wombat in the Currumbin Sanctuary

Olson's Bird Gardens
These lovely botanic gardens, situated in a subtropical rainforest valley, contain numerous exotic and indigenous birds, as well as deer and emus. It is located 9 km from Currumbin Beach. To get there turn off the Pacific Highway at Currumbin into Currumbin Creek Rd. The gardens are open from 9.00 am. to 5.00 p.m. daily. Refreshments are available and there is a gift shop. An entry fee is charged, tel: (07) 5533 0208.

Mt Cougal (Springbrook National Park)
This rugged and heavily vegetated section of Springbrook National Park, located in the Tomewin region behind the Gold Coast, centres on the two peaks of Mt Cougal. The only facilities and tracks are to be found at Cougal's Cascades.

where there is an old timber mill, mountain streams and pools, and walking tracks into the rainforest.

Tandem Skydive
Tandem Skydive operate out of Coolangatta Airport on a daily basis (weather permitting), tel: (07) 5599 1920.

	Tourist Information
	Shop 14B Coolangatta Place Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7765 Facsimile: (07) 5536 7841
	Motels
	Bombora on the Park Carmichael Cl Goodwin Park Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 1888 Rating: ***
	Greenmount Beach Resort Motel 3 Hill St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 1222 Rating: ***
	Ocean View Motel 126 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 3722 Rating: **
	Resorts
	Beachcomber International Resort 122 Griffith St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 9555 Facsimile: (07) 5574 2810 Rating: ****
	Beach House Seaside Resort 58 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7466 Facsimile: (07) 5574 2810 Rating: ***
	Ocean Plaza Resort Cnr Marine Pde & Warner St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 9999 Facsimile: (07) 5536 9111 Rating: *****
	Apartments
	Antonios Rex Motel & Ritz Flats Holiday Apartments 104 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 1655 Rating: **
	Aries Apartments 82 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 2711 Rating: ***
	Belle Mare Holiday Apartments cnr Hill & Boundary Sts Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5599 2755 Facsimile: (07) 5599 5719 Rating: ****1/2
	Carool Luxury Apartments Cnr Petrie St & Eden Ave Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7154 Rating: ***
	Carool Luxury Apartments cnr Petrie St & Eden Ave Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7154 Facsimile: (07) 5536 7204 Rating: ****
	Columbia Beachfront Apartments 184 Marine Pde Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5599 0666 Rating: ***
	Point North Apartments Cnr Marine Pde & Dutton St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 0000 Rating: ***
	Rainbow Commodore Apartments 255 Boundary St Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7758 Rating: ***
	The Bay Apartments 243 Boundary St Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 2988 Facsimile: (07) 5536 7077 Rating: ***
	Holiday Homes & Units
	Chateau Royale 1 Garrick St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 8877 Rating: ****
	Eden Tower 5 Ward St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 8213 Rating: ***
	On the Beach 118 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 3624 Rating: **
	Rainbow Place 180 Marine Pde Rainbow Bay Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 9144 Rating: ***
	Skyline 126 Musgrave St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 8914 Rating: ***
	Cottages & Cabins
	Hanging Rock Chalet 677 Tomewin Rd via Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5533 0327 Facsimile: (07) 5533 0327 Email: eco@hangingrockschalets.com.au
	Backpackers
	Youth Hostels Association of Queensland 230 Coolangatta Rd Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7644
	Camping & Other
	Youth Hostels Association of Queensland 230 Coolangatta Rd Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 7644
	Restaurants
	Angelina's Pizzeria Beach House Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 4327
	Aztec Mexican Restaurant 1st Floor Food Court Showcase Building Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5599 2748
	Cafferoma Showcase On the Beach Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 4349
	Casa Mia Piccola Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5599 2336
	Cazzy's Restaurant 122 Griffith St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 2511
	Le Grill Family Restaurant Beach House Resort Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 2777
	Little Malaya Restaurant Shop 14 Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 2690
	Outside-Inn 147 Musgrave St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 6558
	Rainbow Bay Surf Life Saving Club 2 Snapper Rocks Rd Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5599 1355
	Rangmahal 171 Griffith St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 3357
	Thai Star Restaurant 3 Griffith St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 6202
	The Jungle Mexican Cantina Shop 12 The Beach House Marine Pde Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 3412
	The Singapore Merlion Restaurant 25 MacLean St Coolangatta QLD 4225 Telephone: (07) 5536 4678