I acknowledge and pay my respects to the people of the Bundjalung Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land which features in this article. I pay my respects to Elders past, present, and future. I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who read this article. 

Meet me at Cabarita Beach, where the surf washes the city blues away. Run away from Brisbane’s cosmopolitan dreams, pass the tinsel trappings of the Gold Coast, and rediscover Australia’s authentic coastal bliss. 

The locals tell it best. “Years ago, I’d park the car here and grab fish and chips at the shop on the beach, with an extra shake of chicken salt. We would watch the moon rise over the ocean and sleep in the back of the car, listening to the waves rolling onto the beach. We would wake around 6 am and take our boards down the hill to the surf, right there. After a few months, I realised I was better off living here than anywhere in Brissy or the Gold Coast. ”

Yes, there may be some new houses along the shoreline, but we can still embrace the local spirit. The fish and chip shop still serves up the classic combo of battered fish and chunky chips. We can still enjoy a refreshing Bundaberg Ginger Beer on the beach. And we can still marvel at the waves crashing under a moonlit sky. Whether it’s a spontaneous beach weekend or a planned stop on a grand coastal road trip, Cabarita Beach is ready to ignite our sense of adventure. 

Further afield, we can visit Wollumbin, previously known to white people as Mount Warning and renamed again to recognise the First Nation people for the area. We won’t climb it–it’s a sacred site to the Bundjalung people and held as the Warrior Chief of the Mountain. Instead, we can use Wollumbin as a landmark and drive through the surrounding areas. 

Back at the beach, we can learn more about the Bundjalung people and explore the Bush Tucker Trail right next to the shoreline. It’s a 15-minute walk, with various indigenous plants identified with signs featuring their traditional use. Many we will recognise, but I reckon I can show you a couple of new ones. 

Can you smell the melaleuca flowers? The Bundjalung people marked the Melaleuca flower as the first sign of fat crab season. Personally, I hate the smell. I can usually pick it a week before anyone else can smell them ready to bloom. That is a sure sign that the crabs are ready; that would make for a great dinner by the beach. We’ll check in with the seafood market again. 

By the end of the weekend, we might not be ready to return to the big city, but we’ll be feeling lighter for it. There’s something refreshing about the clean salty air; especially when you find the right balance in time spent escaping the city without feeling so far to make it a long journey. Just the right distance to be back next week. 

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Cabarita Beach is located on the Tweed Coast, in the township of Bogangar. It’s about 25 minutes south of the Queensland/New South Wales border on Australia’s east coast. That’s about an hour by car from Brisbane; less from the Gold Coast to the north or Byron Bay to the south (the nearest airports). It remains a quaint, quiet beachside village but can sometimes turn into a cashed-up resort town during Summer Holidays or long weekends. 

There is limited public transport available to Cabarita Beach; limited to a few local buses ferrying along the beachside villages to nearby Kingscliffe. It is best accessed with your own personal car. Caravan or camping equipment is optional. The local caravan park fills quickly, while the handful of hotels and apartments are booked well in advance. 

In nearby Murwillumbah, visitors can learn about local history at the Tweed Valley Museum. It features detailed insights into the area’s Aboriginal culture, the white invasion, and subsequent multicultural development. The exhibits share stories from the Dreamtime and how the Bundjalung people aligned their traditions with nature’s own signals. The opening of this exhibit matched the renaming of local landmarks, including the renaming of Mount Warning to its original name–Wollumbin. 

The Bush Tucker Trail is located right next to Cabarita Beach, on the road from Bogangar to Hastings Point. It was created in 2012 as a joint project between the local public school and the Cabarita Beach dune-care group. These kinds of bush trails carry so much local identity from the community. Many plants have grown in the local area for thousands of years, adapting to the environment and sharing a natural history way beyond anything we could imagine; in part due to the narrow white-centric education system in Australia.

While the locals hold tight to their ‘beach-side village’ lifestyle, they are warm to visitors, especially fellow beach lovers. They are also open to the change and growth that acknowledges First Nations people and heritage, and reconnects with the local culture. That’s because it’s all about the beach. Cabarita Beach is the heart of its community. It is the relaxing breath in so many people, the steady beat of their hearts, and the whisper of years of memories and laughter. It is a secret that guards against the stress of our busy working lives and reminds us to enjoy the moment. This is the message Cabarita Beach has held for time immemorial, and will hold for you in the years to come.