Tallebudgera Creek

The Tallebudgera creek source can be found high up on McPherson Range, in Springbrook National Park between Mt Thillinman and Mt Cougal. This travels north before escaping out to the ocean on the south side of Burleigh Heads.

Calm estuary paddling can be found in the lower tidal sections, and possibly in other sections such as around the old Tallebudgera Creek Dam.

The name Tallebudgera apparently comes from the Yugambeh word "Jalubay-ngagam", which means "dingo's urine".

What to expect

The bottom section is a wide tidal estuary with sandy beaches and is lined by parks, and it is a popular destination for families and holiday makers in summer. It quickly becomes a typical small tidal river with some mangroves around the fish habitat area. Mixed urban and parks define the upper tidal sections.

Above the tidal sections, the river becomes stepper and rockier and potentially not naviagatable. The source is found high above the beaches on the slopes of the Springbrook plateau.

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Logistics

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Tides

There is likely moderate tidal influence for most trips, with some care required near the mouth (Tallebudgera Groyne) due to the current and ocean waves, and enough flow to provide a noticeable current in the lower tidal sections.

Tidal info for Tallebudgera Creek Mouth

HAT

2.10 m

MSL

0.97 m

MHWS

1.60 m

MHWN

1.20 m

MLWN

0.40 m

MLWS

0.10 m

December

22

Sun

00:53

1.17 m

06:23

0.62 m

12:54

1.45 m

19:40

0.43 m

December

23

Mon

02:06

1.18 m

07:42

0.66 m

13:54

1.31 m

20:39

0.39 m

December

24

Tue

03:19

1.23 m

09:17

0.65 m

15:01

1.21 m

21:35

0.36 m

December

25

Wed

04:19

1.32 m

10:31

0.60 m

16:06

1.16 m

22:21

0.35 m

Tide predictions are estimates only. The tidal datum is for Snapper Rocks (Point Danger). Tide predictions are calculated from Snapper Rocks (Point Danger) with times adjusted by minus 4 minutes for low tide and minus 3 minutes for high tide.
Please refer to the Bureau of Meteorology and Australian National Tide Tables for official tidal information.
© Commonwealth of Australia

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Distances

Some key locations up until Robert Neumann Park, are listed below.

^* 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.
^§ Distances have been manually calculated from the river mouth.

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Map

Explore the key locations in the map below. Most locations will have a photograph that can be seen by clicking on the icon or number in the map itself.

The map also has markers every kilometer that start at 0 at where the creek meets the ocean all the way to the source.

You may need to zoom in to see all of these kilometer markers. These do not correlate with any existing numbering system on the river.

• Lake Awonga
• Boat Ramps
• Kayak Ramp or Path
• Access Points
• Pontoon

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