Pine River

The southern and northern branches of the Pine River begin in D’Aguilar National Park and stretch almost all of the way down to Moreton Bay, converging on the flat coastal plains to form the Pine River just west of the Bruce Highway and flowing the last 8 km as a singular river into the bay between Sandgate (Brighton) and Redcliffe (Clontarf).

Lieutenant John Oxley, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, was the first European to see the river, giving it the name Deception River. The North Pine River was also named the Eden River at one stage, however the local common name of the Pine River was the name that stuck, referring to the Hoop Pines that were once common in the area.

There are many parks and reserves along its course although only the lower waterways are navigable.

What to expect

The river enters Bramble Bay, an embayment of Moreton Bay. Hays Inlet is located just to the north. This is a wide open bay with dual bridges spanning between Redcliffe and Brighton on Houghton Highway, with a fishing platform in the middle that marks about the end of the main Pine River channel into the bay. The combined span of the bridges across the lower Pine and Hays Inlet is nearly 3 km across.

There is excellent coastal paddling around both the lower Pine and Hays Inlet, with dense strands of mangroves lining the shores and is rich in various marine and bird life. Hayes Inlet is designated as a marine reserve. High nutrient loads cause water quality issues in the bay.

The Pine River forms an extensive coastal estuary and also provides excellent paddling around the Tinchi Tamba Wetlands Reserve on the banks of the Pine River. It is named after the Aboriginal words for ibis and mangroves.

The larger northern branch is known as the North Pine River. It has a tidal reach that almost extends as far as Youngs Crossing with the river decreasing in width as you head upstream. The southern South Pine River navigable section extends up to around the Gympie Rd / Railway bridges near Bald Hills.

Limited paddling upstream of both rivers other than Lake Samsonvale (North Pine Dam) and Lake Kurwongbah on Sliding Creek, a tributary of the North Pine River.

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Logistics

There are a couple of boat ramps north on the bay, as well as some on the lower South and North Pine Rivers.

These are run by Moreton Bay Council or Brisbane City Council. The southern section between the South Pine River and Bramble Bay resides within the Brisbane City Council area.

See the pages for Lake Samsonvale (North Pine Dam) and Lake Kurwongbah for logistics for accessing the lakes.

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Tides

There is a tidal influence for most trips, with care required near the mouth, and enough flow to provide a small current but the extra depth is probably the biggest consideration.

Tidal info for North Pine River Mouth

HAT

2.70 m

MSL

1.33 m

MHWS

2.20 m

MHWN

1.80 m

MLWN

0.80 m

MLWS

0.40 m

October

18

Fri

03:49

0.14 m

09:55

2.48 m

16:21

0.33 m

22:02

2.20 m

October

19

Sat

04:26

0.16 m

10:41

2.53 m

17:11

0.40 m

22:46

2.02 m

October

20

Sun

05:01

0.22 m

11:27

2.52 m

18:03

0.51 m

23:31

1.82 m

October

21

Mon

05:37

0.33 m

12:15

2.45 m

18:59

0.63 m

Tides for selected locations on the North Pine River for Friday, 18th October

Bald Hills Creek

03:59

0.14 m

09:59

2.48 m

16:31

0.33 m

22:06

2.20 m

Deepwater Bend

04:27

0.14 m

10:06

2.48 m

16:59

0.33 m

22:13

2.20 m

South Pine River

04:31

0.14 m

10:10

2.48 m

17:03

0.33 m

22:17

2.20 m

Gympie Road

04:38

0.14 m

10:17

2.48 m

17:10

0.33 m

22:24

2.20 m

Tide predictions are estimates only. The tidal datum is for Brisbane Bar. Tide predictions are calculated from Brisbane Bar with times adjusted by 2 minutes for low tide and 1 minutes for high tide. Other locations use a similar offset calculation.

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Distance Table

The following distance table has some key locations. Distances are shown from Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, the river mouth.

^* Side represents either the left / port (L) or right / starboard (R) sides when facing downstream of the main river or the specified direction of travel for bays or lakes (usually anticlockwise).
^† Most of the features were taken from local council pages.
^‡ Tide times are offset from the river mouth that are in turn offset from the Bureau of Meteorology tide tables.
^§ Distances have been manually calculated from the river mouth.

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