Tourists in Turquoise Tallebudgera!

We just got back from ten magical days at Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park in Palm Beach. We landed at the Gold Coast airport and caught the local bus to the caravan park… what a treat we had in store for us! Our humble little cabin was right on the waterfront. Utter bliss!

There weren’t a huge number of restaurants, cafes or shops really close by which I was pleasantly surprised by. It meant we spent most of our time out in nature just enjoying our awesome surrounds away from the hustle and bustle of cafes and shops. You can get a good coffee at the hole in the wall cafe a five minute walk away at Tallebudgera Creek Life Saving Club though and it looks like another cafe will be opening soon when the works are complete at the recreation centre there. There is also a cafe about a ten minute walk away called Espresso Moto but we didn’t try it as I bought enough food for the whole ten days at the supermarket when we arrived. Not to mention the abundance of restaurants and cafes in Burleigh Heads if you go for a twenty or thirty minute walk around the national park and you’ll pop out at Burleigh Pavillion and can have a drink right on the water. But it was always lovely to return back to our little paradise away from the crowds.

Every morning the kids were up at sunrise and I would run around the stunning Burleigh Heads National Park while they were having breakfast. When I got back we’d head across the bridge to the beach right near where the creek meets the sea. As the tide went out we hunted for unusual shells and found hermit crabs and barnacles. The water was crystal clear and the most inviting shade of turquoise! Then back to our cabin for sandwiches and a rest and off to the amazing lagoon pool at the caravan park for the afternoon. On a few afternoons I snuck away to the beach out the front of our cabin to read my book. We would then spend the late afternoon paddling in the creek out the front watching the boats, paddle boarders and fish.

So this was our day, every day, aside from a couple of outings. Once we caught the bus to Pacific Fair which is an impressive shopping centre in the heart of the Gold Coast. It had a fantastic children’s play area in one of the outdoor laneways called ‘Play Street’ and plenty of places to eat. We couldn’t resist lunch at Betty’s Burgers. One other evening we caught the bus to Mermaid Beach and had an icecream at a gorgeous gelati shop called ‘Lik, Lik, Lik’. There were a few good places for a drink and dinner in this little strip of shops. We also had dinner one night at the Tallebudgera Life Saving Club and a play at the awesome park out the front on the ocean beach. And a few icecreams in Burleigh Heads after a walk through the national park (it’s a kid friendly walk with paved footpath the whole way you just need to keep them away from the steep edge when it isn’t fenced).

All in all this would have to be up there with one of our favourite holiday destinations as a family to date. It was also one of the cheapest holidays we’ve been on as I managed to snap up half price airfares and the caravan park accommodation was very reasonably priced if you’re not after anything fancy. Our cabin had everything we needed! And the park facilities were sensational. The pool was just as good as a resort with waterslides and a separate kiddy pool.