The Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park, which enjoys a four-and-a-half star RACQ rating, is situated right on the banks of Tallebudgera Creek, right on the northern end of Palm Beach.

It’s easy for Brisbanites to get there – just hop on the MI motorway and take the Reedy Creek exit, and then follow Reedy Creek Road (which turns into Lower West Burleigh Road) until you reach the intersection with the old Gold Coast Highway. Turn right onto the Highway, cross the bridge over Tallebudgera Creek and you’ll see the Tallebudgera Tourist Park on your right.

The Park’s hospitable reception area, with its array of cheerful staff, make you feel immediately at home. At the reception area there’s a fair supply of grocery items including an array of fresh and frozen items. The usual gas and ice are there, along with a hot coffee machine and bait cabinet.

The Park is very large, with a total lack of crowding. Sites are huge when compared with some modern day caravan parks and there are several rows of sites, all with plenty of grassed areas and lots of shade, set aside for folk who like to set up their tent. There are also rows and rows of sites for caravans or campers with concrete slabs aplenty.

Facilities include waterfront and garden lounges, two beaches with a swimming enclosure on the western side, total waterfront sites, a TV/recreation room, camp kitchen, swimming pool, tennis and basketball court, free electric BBQ, children’s playground and other attractions.

Nearby there’s a host of things to see and do, including visits to various sporting clubs as well as the theme parks or Casino within a half hour’s drive. Surfing and bush walking is there as well.

The Park features some outstanding cabins. These modern units are located right on the water on both the western (Waterview and Oceana cabins) and northern (Seashell cabins) side boundaries and offer such attractions as two bedrooms, bathroom facilities, air-conditioning, Austar cable TV, and balconies equipped with sinks, BBQ facilities and tables and chairs. I reckon one of those balconies would be a top place to cook up a feed of fish.

The clean waters of Tallebudgera Creek look just as beautifully pristine as they did when I first fished them over 40 years ago. Mangrove jacks are still taken at night on live whiting or mullet, and there are umpteen flathead, bream and whiting throughout the system as well. The upper reaches of the Creek abound with the likes of bream, trevally, small barracuda and jacks as well as big whiting. And if you own a small boat and like to fish pristine waters, a lot of the creek’s upper area is a forestry reserve.

On the other hand, if you like to throw plastics around structure there are two large canal estates on the southern arms of the creek in which to test your skill. You can still take a lot of fish from the banks along the waterway as well.

Boaties don’t have to go far to launch, as there is a boat ramp in the large deepwater basin to the west of the Park with access via a small lane at the southwest end of the Park, just past the row of on-site cabins.

When conditions are right a lot of boats head offshore to fish the reefs at Palm Beach, but I must stress that the mouth of Tallebudgera Creek is difficult to negotiate. You should seek advice before attempting a trip out through the bar, which is notoriously shallow most times. A better venue for ocean access might well be Currumbin Creek, a few kilometres to the south.

Beach and rock fishing is also available in the area. The rocks at Burleigh Heads, just across the road bridge, are well worth a look at daylight and dusk, and beach fishing is available just about anywhere along the shores of Palm Beach or Coolangatta, depending upon the presence of gutters or holes – just as with any surf beach.

There are also some good whiting available in Tallebudgera Creek at night. Worms are the prime bait, but fresh yabbies and tiny dark-coloured soldier crabs work OK as well.

The staff at the Tourist Park office are happy to give visitors some fishing info, and they also have maps available to get you started.

The Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park management staff go out of their way to make things enjoyable for tenants. During holiday times, resident manager Mark and his assistants run special activities such as the popular open air on-site movie nights, Kids Club outings with sports in the Park and on the Park’s beaches, kids fishing competitions and ‘wine and cheese’ nights. Winter visitors from down south are even treated to bus trips to the various casinos!

It’s necessary to book well in advance for holidays during busy periods such as Christmas and Easter. The contact phone number is (07) 5581 7700, or you can send an email to --e-mail address hidden--

[CAPTIONS]

1. The Park’s entrance is attractive, as is the rest of the facility.

2. This great little lagoon like side water of Tallebudgera Creek is situated right at the rear of the Tourist Park.

3. Air conditioned cabins are available within the Park. These cabins are located on the western side of the Park, right by the water.