Major Events in the Tweed Region
Murwillumbah Golf Course This magnificent 18 hole golf course has Mt Warning as its backdrop. Play 9 or 18 holes or drop in for a great meal (at a reasonable price). 233 Byangum Road, Murwillumbah, ph 6672 1799
Murwillumbah Races, Racecourse Rd 6672 4999 or 6672 3672 for race dates
Byron Bay is a 30 minute drive south from Murwillumbah. In the region there are numerous towns to visit. Stop into Brunswick Heads (seaside) or Mullimbimby (regional town). You could spend days (or weeks) discovering the hidden treasures within an hours drive.
Tweed Heads and Gold Coast – If you need a bit of ‘action’, twenty minutes north of Murwillumbah you’ll be back in the big smoke of the Gold Coast. For a show/cabaret or just a good night out check out Twin Towns Services Club, approximately 20 minutes north at Coolangatta. Visit
www.twintowns.com.au for more information or call 07 5536 2277
Kingscliff - Kingscliff is approximately a 20 minute drive from Murwillumbah. There are many restaurants/cafes, surf beach etc. It’s best to cruise along Marine Parade and see what takes your fancy.
Murwillumbah Art Gallery – Perhaps the best regional gallery in NSW. Overlooking the Tweed River and valley, the art is as beautiful as the views. Pop in for a coffee or lunch. Open 10 – 5pm Wed-Sun. 2 Mistral Road/Cnr Tweed Valley Way. See
www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/artgallery/artgalleryhome.aspx or phone 6670 2790
Lookout
From Main St and turn left into Queensland Rd. The first road on the right is Bent St. It leads up to Lion's Lookout by the town reservoir. There are barbecue facilities and views over the town, river and surrounding canefields.
Museum
At the corner of Queensland Rd and Bent St is the local history museum, located in the former council chambers (1910). It is open Wednesday and Friday from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6672 1865.
Lisnagar and Palmdale Stud
Head out of town along Queensland Road. After 2 km you will cross the bridge over the Rous River and come to a T-junction. A left will take you to Chillingham. Look to the right and you will see a very attractive two-storey timber homestead known as 'Lisnagar' (1906). Turn into the Chillingham Road which follows the Rous River into the Numinbah Valley. 12 km from Murwillumbah is a signposted turnoff on the right into Upper Crystal Creek Rd where you will find Palmdale Stud (aka Crystal Creek Miniatures), a curious venture which features a series of real miniature animals (bulls, cows, mares etc). There is also a coffee shop, nursery and gift shop. It is open daily, tel: (02) 6679 1532 or (02) 6679 1632.
Chillingham
Another 4 km along Queensland Road is the small but charming village of Chillingham. The general store offers a range of specialist products from the local area and serves an excellent cup of tea. St Andrew's Church is rather attractive.
Natural Bridge and Springbrook National Park
From Chillingham follow the Nerang Road through the Numinbah Valley. 4 km north of the Queensland border tick gate is a narrow, winding side road signposted for the 'Natural Arch'. This geological phenomenon was essentially formed by lava from Mount Warning which has solidified into a cavern. However, erosion from the creek above has caused a huge hole to form in the roof of the cavern so that the water falls through the hole into a water pool below. The access road leads to a carpark in a delightful shady rainforest grove full of birdlife (eastern yellow robins, whipbirds, catbirds, wompoo pigeons and brush turkeys) and the burbling of the stream as it passes through the valley below. There is a clearly signposted circuit walk which leads through the rainforest to a lookout overlooking the falls and the hole in the cavern roof. It crosses the creek, passes another elevated viewing area, then moves down to creek level, where it is possible to enter the cavern where forest light shafts down through the opening, illuminating the base of the falls. The path then crosses the creek again and climbs back up to the parking lot. An information board at the start of the walk provides information about the park and its wildlife. The 'Bridge' is located in Springbrook National Park, in an area once occupied by indigenous tribes but settled, from the 1870s, by Europeans who first entered the area to collect timber. Indeed a large portion of a giant red cedar taken from a spot near the Natural Bridge in 1893 was displayed at the Paris World Fair. The remnant rainforest in the Park, which grew from the rich volcanic soils, gives some idea of the environment which once characterised the entire Numinbah Valley before colonisation. The Natural Bridge was first declared a Scenic and Recreation Reserve in 1922, by which time much of the valley had been cleared and dairy farms were being established. No camping is permitted in the Park. More details can be obtained by ringing (07) 5533 5147 or (07) 5576 4045. To get to the bridge, head west of Nerang for 4 km, ignoring the Mt Tamborine turnoff and heading instead towards Beechmont. After a further 4 km the the Murwillimbah turnoff. 4 km before you come to the tick gate at the state border, there is a narrow, winding side road signposted for the 'Natural Arch'. En route is the beautiful scenery of the Numinbah Valley. The access road is narrow and winding.
Sugar Mill
The Condong Sugar Mill (established in 1880) is located on the left-hand side of the Pacific Highway, 4 km north-east of Murwillumbah. From July to November visitors can view the sugarcane being processed. Inspections are for small groups and by prior arrangement (fully-covered shoes are essential), tel: (02) 6670 1700.
Madura Tea Estates
Madura Tea Estates (Australia's first commercial tea estate) is about 5 km from Murwillumbah along Clothiers Creek Road. Inspections are possible call first to confirm times, tel: (02) 6677 7215.
Cudgen Nature Reserve
At the end of Clothiers Creek Rd (15 km from the highway), just before it reaches a T-intersection with the Tweed Coast Road at Bagangar, you will pass, on your left, Cudgen Lake (ideal for canoeing) and foreshores and, to the right, Round Mountain: both are now part of Cudgen Nature Reserve (671 ha). Cudgen Mountain provides excellent views across the lake, the ocean and the hinterland.
Tumbulgum
North-east of Murwillumbah, the Pacific Highway follows the Tweed River. Each side of both the road and the river is given over to sugarcane. 11 km from Murwillumbah is a left turn into the tiny township of Tumbulgum where novelist Faith Bandler was born after her father was brought here as kanaka labour by slave traders in 1883. Tumbulgum was originally known to Europeans as the Tweed Junction for it is here that the Tweed and Rous Rivers meet ('Tumbulgum' means 'place where the waters meet'). An inn was built here in 1870 and, in 1872, a school and post office opened. The village was quite prosperous in the 1890s. A survivor from the 'boom' days is the Tumbulgum Hotel which marks the site of an old ferry crossing. Several other buildings in Riverside Drive are of interest. The local pub is on of the busiest in the region, especially on Sundays. Tumbulgum is a perfect place for fishing or waterskiing.
Stott's Island Nature Reserve
13 km from Murwillumbah, to the left, is Stott's Island which provides an example of the lush lowland rainforest that covered the entire Tweed Valley prior to European settlement. There is a boat ramp. Opposite the reserve is Hogan's Park picnic area.
Tropical Fruit World
Just beyond Stott's Island, the highway straightens out. There is a signposted right turn to Tropical Fruit World at Duranbah - an agri-tourist destination based around a tropical fruit plantation. There are also fruits and fruit products for sale, souvenirs and a restaurant. It is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6677 7222.
Rainforest Secrets
19 km south along the Pacific Highway is Mooball. If you turn off here and head north-east along Pottsville Rd it is 4 km to Pioneer Plantation, an award-winning agri-tourism complex based around a banana plantation. It is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6677 1215.
Mount Warning National Park
Mount Warning (1157 metres) is famous throughout Australia as the first point on the east coast to be touched by the sun's morning rays. It was given a World Heritage listing in 1986. The mountain, with its Dreamtime connections, is significant to the indigenous people who know it as 'Wollumbin'. Its European name was bestowed by Captain Cook to warn mariners of offshore reefs which he encountered in 1770. To get there, head south-west along the Kyogle Rd for 10 km then take the signposted right turn onto the Mount Warning Road and travel 6 km to the Breakfast Creek Picnic Area at the park entrance by the base of the mountain. This walk is very highly recommended although it is strenuous, steep and rocky in parts. It is an 8.8-km hike (return) through subtropical and temperate rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and heath shrubland which takes about four hours return so it is best to start by 2.00 p.m. in winter. There are rest stops along the way and a chain to assist you up the last steep section. The 360-degree views from the peak are stunning.
There are barbecue facilities at the picnic area. Camping and fires are not otherwise permitted, although a privately-run campground offers car and caravan-based camping. For further information ring (02) 6672 6360 on weekdays.
If your hungry after your bushwalk, try one the regions best local restaurants, located at the base of the mountains. Look out for Mavis’s Kitchen. Due to its popularity its recommended you book to reserve your table (02) 6679 5664.
Uki and Clarrie Hall Dam
4 km beyond the turnoff to Mt Warning is the attractive village of Uki which began as a service centre to a cedar-getting area declined after the Second World War.
4 km beyond Uki is a turnoff on the left into Doon Doon Rd which leads to Clarrie Hall Dam where there are barbecue facilities. Activities permitted on Clarrie Hall Dam include canoeing, boating (electric motor, sail or paddle power only) and fishing. The Dam is stocked with Australian Bass.
