2022 About Kingscliff area
Kingscliff is a coastal town just south of Tweed Heads in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is a beach community offering a variety of holiday accommodations. Together with the villages of Chinderah and Fingal, it is a tourist destination that provides beach and estuary access for swimming, surfing, fishing and water sports. Enjoy an extraordinary range of spectacular NSW attractions, from magnificent national parks and beautiful beaches, to road trips such as the Grand Pacific Drive, camping and lovely wine regions. There is fascinating heritage to explore, fun adventures to experience and natural wonders to see.
Its main street, Marine Parade, contains many cafes, shops and accommodation located directly across from Kingscliff beach and creek. The town also has two primary schools and a state high school.
An oceanway allows pedestrians and cyclists to move from the historic centre of town out to the emerging new communities along the Tweed Coast in a sustainable manner.
A number of well-known sporting teams represent the local area, including the Cudgen Hornets, the local rugby league club who play home games at Ned Byrne Field. In September 2009, Kingscliff hosted a stage of the World Rally Championship. Kingscliff Wolves Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club founded in 1968. The club’s home ground is the Walter Peate Oval. The club competes in the Gold Coast Premier League, where it has been one of the leading sides for the past few decades.
There are many bike paths for local cyclists through the parks along Kingscliff’s beaches. The neighboring town of Salt is accessible via a bike path.
Beach Activities
Body and board surfing, lying in the sun, enjoying the ambience of beautiful beaches, doing a little fishing from the beaches and the rocky headlands, these
are all activities which define Kingscliff. It is a charming, largely unspoilt and rather upmarket town which is a desirable holiday destination for those who want to avoid the buzz and excitement of the Gold Coast.
Tropical Fruit World
Tropical Fruit World started in 1972 when Bob and Val Brinsmead purchased a rundown small crop farm with a view to specialising in tropical fruit starting with avocados and including custard apples, mangoes, lychees, guavas, macadamia nuts and papaya. By 1983 it was known as Avocadoland. In 1990 the property was taken over by their eldest child, Judith Brinsmead. In 1995 it became Tropical Fruit World and it is now an agri-tourist destination based around a tropical fruit plantation with over 500 varieties of fruit. A visit includes nine specific specialist gardens.
* Chinese Garden – lychees, wampis longans, mulberries
* Inca Garden – champagne fruit, mountain pawpaw
* Sth East Asian Garden – wax jambu, giant pommelo
* Aztec Garden – canistel, chocolate fruit
* Indian Garden – jakfruit, mangos, guavas
* South Pacific Garden – papaya, bananas, passionfruit
* Tropical Berry Garden – jaboticabas, cherry guavas and the amazing miracle fruit
* Experimental Garden – noni, goji
* Bush Tucker Garden – Davidson’s plum, lemon myrtle, macadamias
Tours include “Boat and train rides, an animal farmyard, and a recreation area with putt-putt golf, volleyball, flying fox and games equipment”. The place is now so comprehensive that visitors can go to the fruit market, enjoy the Plantation Cafe and Juice Bar, go on a Plantation Safari, enjoy fruit tasting, go on a wildlife boat cruise to the fauna park where the animals can be hand-fed, and ride on a miniature train. It is located at 29 Duranbah Road, Duranbah and is open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, tel: (02) 6677 7222. Check out http://www.tropicalfruitworld.com.au for greater detail and entry prices.
Salt Village
No visit to Kingscliff is complete without a visit to the “unreal” development known as Salt Village just south of Kingscliff. The website http://saltvillage.com.au sums it up by being divided into Dine, Shop, Play, Stay and Live. It is an interesting resort destination, with two Peppers hotels and a number of very classy restaurants, which is an attempt to create a new, all-encompassing, resort and living environment. They even have their own surf club. Visit and be amazed … or horrified.
Cudgen Nature Reserve
Lying 11 km south of Kingscliff, via the Tweed Coast Road, is Cudgen Nature Reserve which covers an area of 671 ha. The main attraction is Cudgen Lake which has barbecues, a boat ramp and picnic tables. It is ideal for canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing. To the south is Round Mountain and to the west is Wollumbin Mount Warning. Round Mountain provides excellent views across the lake, the ocean and the hinterland. An Aboriginal stone quarry is located on the edge of the lake and the area remains of significance to local Aborigines. There are excellent views of Mount Warning from the lake’s eastern shore on a clear day. The reserve contains a rich variety of vegetation types which are home to a number of threatened plant and animal species. The reserve also supports a large koala population (reputedly the last in the region). For more information check out http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/cudgen-nature-reserve/cudgen-lake.
Mebbin National Park – Near Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads, Mebbin National Park is a paradise for nature-lovers. Its a significant nature conservation area, which protects an important part of the Tweed landscape while also serving as a vital habitat link between the World Heritage areas of Wollumbin and Border Ranges national parks. A large portion of the park is dry eucalypt forest, with some rainforest and a small section of old growth forest.
Cudgen Lake – Just near the coastal villages of Cabarita Beach and Bogangar on the Tweed Coast, Cudgen Lake is a hidden wetland treasure surrounded by floodplain forest and rainforests. Look out over the calm waters and you’ll see majestic Round Mountain in the south and striking views to the west of Wollumbin Mount Warning in the World Heritage-listed Wollumbin National Park.
Nightcap National Park – Nightcap National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, is a dramatically beautiful park full of ancient rainforests, magical waterways and spectacular views. The lush rainforest provides a home for the newly discovered nightcap oak as well as a number of threatened animal species, including Albert’s lyrebird and Fleay’s barred frog which takes shelter under leaf litter and makes an ‘ok-ok-ok-ok-ok’ after rain.
Minjungbal Aboriginal Cultural Centre – Run by the area’s Aboriginal community, it’s a popular meeting place for Goori people and other Aboriginal peoples. You’ll find museum exhibits, informative videos, Aboriginal art, and you may even be lucky to see traditional dance and song on the outdoor performance area.
Visitor Information
Kingscliff Visitor Information, Marine Parade, Kingscliff, tel: (02) 6674 8064, open 9.00 am – 3.00 pm seven days a week. Kingscliff Video