Tweed Heads

New South Wales (Northern NSW)

Tweed Heads
From Brunswick Heads, the Pacific Highway heads around 30km inland to Murwillumbah and then a further 30km to the coast at TWEED HEADS. Although officially still part of New South Wales, Tweed Heads – the twin city of Coolangata in Queensland – is for all practical purposes part of the Gold Coast. It certainly looks the part: high-rise buildings, concrete apartment blocks and shopping centres vie for space with grandiose club buildings and a roadscape of advertising billboards in gaudy colours. From the shore the jagged skyline of Surfers Paradise can be seen in the distance.

In its favour, it does have lots of places to stay (motels are cheaper here than further north), and even more opportunities to eat and drink – not to mention the opportunity to gamble, an activity that was once banned in Queensland. Clubs and casinos opened up just across the border to cash in: one of the biggest, brightest and longest-established of these is the Twin Towns RSL Club (tel 07/5536 2277) on Wharf Street, whose special offers on cheap food and drink can be a good deal, so long as you don’t lose too much in the machines along the way. One of the few other attractions is the Minjungbal Aboriginal Cultural Museum, on Kirkwood Road in South Tweed Heads (daily 10am–4pm; $6), where detailed exhibits and videos illustrate how Aboriginal people lived off this stretch of the coast; near the museum, a signposted boardwalk leads past an old bora ring – a sacred site used in initiation ceremonies. Ironically, the Captain Cook Memorial Lighthouse on Point Danger celebrates the very event that signalled the demise of Aboriginal culture in these parts: right at the state border, it was erected for the Cook bicentenary celebrations in 1970. Cook gave Point Danger its name after nearly running aground on it, and Mount Warning got its name at the same time – as a landmark to help sailors navigate around the point. Practicalities
The Tweed Tourist Information Centre is at 4 Wharf St (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–3.30pm; tel 07/5536 4244); they also have information on the rest of the Gold Coast. The transport situation merely serves to emphasize Tweed Heads’ functional integration into the Gold Coast: arriving at Coolangatta airport, buses generally make a beeline for the resort strip in Queensland; Kirklands stops at Coolangatta Transit Centre en route between Lismore and Brisbane; Surfside Buslines (tel 07/5536 7666) runs local services up and down the Gold Coast, and to Murwillumbah. Should you want to stay, there are dozens of motels, caravan parks and holiday apartments strung out along the highway, though there’s even more choice over the border and you’re probably better off continuing on to Surfers Paradise for the full Gold Coast experience – if that’s what you’re after. For something less crass, head 20km south down the Coast Road to Cabarita Beach near Bogangar where you’ll find Emu Park Backpackers Resort, a good hostel which has free use of bikes and boards, surfing lessons and trips to Mount Warning; the village has a pub and several eating places. Back in Tweed Heads itself, it’s not hard to find something to eat: if the clubs don’t appeal, head for oceanfront Marine Parade, where there’s everything from takeaway pizza to Reggae’s (tel 07/5599 0000) in the new Calypso Plaza Resort. Events
Festival of Fish and Chips in Brunswick Heads, January Tweed Banana Festival and Harvest Week. This year's Festival theme is "Arts & Culture of the Tweed, Put Your Art into It". For information please visit Bannana Festival Website For more regional information on Tweed Heads, go to:
Mount Warning National Park Maps
Gold Coast