Burleigh Heads

Burleigh Heads is a basalt headland left by the Tweed volcano, covered in remnant rainforest and hoop pines and protected as a small national park with walking tracks over and around it. The point produces one of Australia's best right-hand barrelling waves when a cyclone swell wraps in, drawing surfers from everywhere and hosting a World Surf League event. On the northern side, a long beach curves toward Surfers with a grassy foreshore of Norfolk pines used for picnics and drumming circles at sunset. The village behind has kept a lower-rise, café-driven character than the strip up the coast, and the headland walk gives views south to Coolangatta and north over the towers.

History

Aboriginal people lived around the headland for thousands of years before Europeans came, and in 1840 the surveyor James Warner, charting the coast near Moreton Bay, named it Burly Head for its massive look, a spelling that drifted to Burleigh Head. The town was surveyed by G. L. Pratten on 18 November 1871, and its first lots were sold on 2 July 1872 at the Lands Office in Beenleigh, more following in 1873, when a track already linked it with Nerang and newspapers were praising its beach; yet by 1885 the township still had only one place to stay (Wikipedia, Burleigh Heads, Queensland).

What to look for

• The point break - the right-hander that draws surfers when the swell arrives.
• The headland park - rainforest tracks and lookouts on the volcanic point.
• The foreshore - Norfolk pines and lawns along the northern beach.
• The village - a low-rise café and restaurant strip behind the beach.

When to go

April to October for the dry season; the best surf comes with cyclone swells from January to April. The headland walks are shaded and work year-round. Weekends fill the foreshore and parking is difficult.

Practical notes

The point is crowded and heavily localised when it breaks, and it is not a beginner wave. Parking near the beach is scarce at weekends. The national park is small and its tracks can be walked in an hour.

Nearby

Currumbin lies south; Surfers Paradise is up the coast north.