Walking past the Captain Cook Memorial Lighthouse forms part of my favourite trek on the Tweed…
I start near the Coolangatta Surf Club, and walk south around Greenmount. If tides are right you can walk on the beach. I normally stay on the path, I love how the path here is extra wide.
Walk past Greenmount Surf Club, there are a few viewing platforms on Greenmount – you can even walk right up to the top of it. Make sure you stop and watch the surfers.
Follow the path or beach through Rainbow Bay, there are great playgrounds all along this trail, if your kids are with you.
If you walk on the beach side of Rainbow Bay Surf Club, it will take you to the fabled Snapper Rocks, home of the Quiksilver Pro. It’s hard to find accommodation when this event is on each February/March.
Again make a stop here. Watch the waves crash over the rocks. You’ll see the old concrete slabs – that was a salt water swimming pool, the Snapper Rocks Sea Baths as well as shark pools. We used to bus here from school for lessons. At least the green frog is still there – can you spot him?
Now follow the boardwalk to Point Danger. Mum and Dad would take a bucket of Kentucky Fried up here for tea in the car. It is still a beautiful place for a picnic. Come back here and choose a spot on the lawn or a sheltered picnic table. Cafe DBar is an institution here as well.
Continue on the trail down to Duranbah Beach (the most northerly beach in NSW, and D-bah is a favourite for surfers). This is where the old waterslide was located in Tweed Heads. I once did a waterslide-athon fundraiser here for school – we could also choose beach walking for sport! Walk on the groynes if you have extra time. You’ll often see fishermen here, and the trawlers heading out to sea.
Follow the path around the Jack Evans Boat Harbour. It honours the first keeper and trainer of dolphins in Australia. His local show ran for almost 20 years – one of the first tourist attractions on the Gold Coast.
Choose two ways to return to your destination. If you walk through Bay Street (where the traffic lights are), your path takes you conveniently past our favourite, Bread Social – where you can collect breakfast, a coffee or your sourdough.
Or return through the border crossing monument, before the Twin Towns RSL Club. Follow Griffith Street, and turn right into Dutton to have you back at Coolangatta Surf Club.
Does this walk bring back memories for you?
