Tallebudgera Creek: the local guide

Tallebudgera Creek runs out of the hinterland and meets the ocean between Palm Beach and Burleigh, and the last few hundred metres are one of the southern Gold Coast's favourite family spots. The water is clear and there is no surf, but it is tidal water: deep channels and strong currents can form near the mouth, so swim only where lifeguards are on duty.

The Palm Beach side, off Tallebudgera Creek Road, has grass, shade, picnic tables, toilets and a kiosk, and it is about five minutes from the house. The Burleigh side is reached through the Burleigh Head National Park car park and is quieter but has less shade. Both sides look onto the same stretch of water.

Time your visit with the tide. The incoming tide brings clear ocean water up the creek and is when the water looks its best; the outgoing tide runs hard through the mouth and is not the time to let children drift. A tide app is worth ten seconds of your morning.

Facilities on the Palm Beach side are genuinely good: toilets and change rooms, barbecues, picnic tables under the trees, and a kiosk through the warmer months. There is a large car park, and it is free — which is the reason it fills. The grass runs right to the water, so a shade tent and a picnic rug is a realistic setup for a whole day rather than a quick swim.

There is a sandbank in the middle of the creek that emerges at low tide and becomes the gathering point for everyone with a paddleboard. Board and kayak hire operates from the creek in the warmer months, and the flat water makes it a genuinely easy first paddle.

For a walk, the path along the creek connects through to the Burleigh Head National Park track, which climbs the headland through pandanus and rainforest and comes out above the point. It is one of the few places on the coast where you get rainforest, creek and surf within a kilometre.

The creek changes through the year. Summer is warm and busy, and the water clarity depends on how much rain has come out of the hinterland in the previous week — after heavy rain the creek runs brown for a few days and it is better to give swimming a miss. Winter is cooler, clearer and much quieter. Whatever the season, currents near the mouth can be strong on a running tide: swim where lifeguards are on duty and check the Beachsafe app first.

Weekends and school holidays fill the car park by mid-morning. Arrive before nine or after three, or walk the twenty-five minutes north along the beach from the house instead.