Currumbin & Tallebudgera Creeks

Between Burleigh Head and Currumbin Rock there are two pretty little creek mouths that look inviting from offshore and aren't. Currumbin and Tallebudgera Creeks both have bars, and MSQ's maps are blunt about them: dangerous, and not to be crossed without local knowledge. Inside, they're shallow, family-friendly waterways full of paddlers, swimmers and tinnies. For a keelboat or anything drawing real water, think of this stretch as scenery on the way to the Seaway, not a place to duck into. For trailer boats, it's ramp country.

At a glance

Approach from sea

Burleigh Head is the landmark. NGA describes it as a prominent, bold, rocky headland, bare of trees on its seaward side, about 6.5 miles north-west of Danger Point. Tallebudgera Creek comes out just south of it. Currumbin Creek is a few miles further down towards Coolangatta, tucked in behind Currumbin Rock.

Offshore, NGA says this coast can be approached to about a mile in good weather. ⚠ Dated. AHO's temporary notices list a light buoy off station off Palm Beach (notice 422(T)/2022). It's an old notice, so check whether it's still in force before you rely on the buoy being where the chart says.

Bar notes

• Both bars: local knowledge only. MSQ's maps carry a straight warning for each creek: the bar is dangerous and should not be crossed except with local knowledge.
• Shallow. MSQ's soundings snapshot (March 2017) for the Tallebudgera map area runs from drying banks to a median of under 2 m, and the area around Currumbin is similar. MSQ prints no depth contours in the creeks at all. These numbers are old; they're only here to show you how thin the water is.
• Dredging. ⚠ As at September 2026, MSQ advised that a workboat would tow an 80 m dredge pipeline from Tallebudgera Creek to Currumbin Creek on 28 September 2026. Expect sand works around both entrances, and check the current notices.
• If you're caught out. There's no shelter here for a deep-draft boat. The Seaway is the all-weather option to the north, about 8 miles up the coast from Burleigh.

Inside the creeks

Tallebudgera Creek has four MSQ buoys in the open data, the farthest up being a yellow buoy near the Palm Beach end. MSQ's map warns that the water in this part of the creek is extremely shallow and that weirs mark the limit of navigation. ⚠ April 2026. MSQ put down a permanent special-purpose buoy just inside the entrance to mark the outer edge of the waterskiing area. There are footbridges and other crossings low enough to stop anything with a mast: the map text shows clearances from about 1.6 m to 7 m above HAT, though which figure belongs to which crossing needs checking on the map itself. MSQ's map also shows a swimming enclosure in the creek.

Currumbin Creek has no MSQ aids in the open data. The map shows footbridges and pipe crossings with clearances from about 2.5 m to 11 m above HAT. Again, check the map before trusting any single number.

Behind Burleigh, the Miami and Burleigh Waters lakes are canal and lake country with no depth contours and plenty of low road bridges. ⚠ As at September 2026, the Cassowary Drive bridge at Burleigh Waters is being replaced, with a temporary rock wall beside it (MSQ notice 494(T)/2026). City of Gold Coast also started maintenance on several bridges around Bayview Street and Sunshine Boulevard in April 2026.

Anchoring

Our sources don't give any anchorage on this stretch, inside the creeks or off the beaches, and we haven't read the anchorage symbols off the MSQ maps for this area. These waters are also inside the Gold Coast anchoring and mooring time limits (Waterways Management Regulation, Schedule 1), which apply south of 27°41′S. If you need to stop, the Broadwater anchorages are the place.

Facilities

There are no marinas in our sources for either creek. A handful of marine businesses sit nearby: a boat builder/repairer (BoatWorx) and a marine equipment supplier (Marine Airflow International) around the Miami and Burleigh industrial area, Aqua Pontoons (boat builder) near Currumbin, and kayak hire on Tallebudgera Creek (Smoothwaters Kayak Hire). They were listed in OpenStreetMap or a live directory in October 2026. That only shows they were listed, not what they'll do for a visiting boat.

Marine rescue. The MSQ maps print VMR Currumbin on VHF 16, 67 and 73, with set base hours, and Coast Guard and VMR Southport further north. ⚠ As printed on maps current to June 2019. Units, hours and channels may have changed, so confirm with your local marine rescue unit before you go.

Fuel, water and pump-out

None in our sources. The nearest fuel is on the Broadwater and in the Nerang River.

Boat ramps

This is where the area earns its keep. The Queensland Government (TMR) boating-facilities list has:

• Currumbin, Panorama Drive: one lane, not tide-limited, no pontoon, no toilets.
• Palm Beach, Thrower Drive (Currumbin): two lanes, tide-limited, toilets.
• Palm Beach, Murlong Crescent (Tallebudgera): one lane plus a floating walkway, tide-limited, toilets.
• Burleigh Heads, Awoonga Avenue (Tallebudgera): one lane, tide-limited, no toilets.

There's also a public pontoon at Currumbin Waters (Michel Drive), and OpenStreetMap shows slipways at the Currumbin RSL and the marine rescue base. All the TMR ramps are managed by City of Gold Coast.

Rules in brief

• Tallebudgera Creek: operating a personal watercraft (jet ski) is prohibited in all of its waters (MSQ map).
• Currumbin Creek: 6 knots (MSQ speed-limit schedule, gazetted 2004), and 6 knots in all the watercourses and canals running into it unless signed otherwise.
• General limits: 6 knots in all canals, boat harbours and marinas unless otherwise prescribed.
• Gold Coast waters: the anchoring and mooring time limits in the Waterways Management Regulation apply here.
• Artificial reef: MSQ's map marks an artificial reef off this stretch, shown as under construction on the 2019 map. Check the current chart for its status.

Ashore

What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.

From Currumbin, Panorama Dr ramp / Palm Beach, Thrower Dr ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)

From Burleigh Heads, Awoonga Ave ramp / Palm Beach, Murlong Cres ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)

No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.

Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.

About this page

This page is a planning aid written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. It is not for navigation. Use the official AHO chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.

Official links

Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.

• MSQ notices to mariners, South East Queensland outside pilotage areas
• Gold Coast Waterways Authority: anchoring and mooring
• MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
• Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
• MSQ Queensland tide tables
• Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
• Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
• Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts

Sources & credits