Ride Guide
Currumbin Valley, Gold Coast
By
Gavin Wright : 01-Jul-2009
Currumbin Valley, Gold coast, QLD
Skill level: Low
Fitness required: Low-medium
Duration: One Day - 4-5 hours (42.6km return) including swim and picnic
Currumbin Valley stretches back from the Gold Coast's southern beaches at a point where the suburbs are about their thinnest. Only a couple of kilometres from the surf you'll be riding through acreage properties and farms as the countryside quickly turns to lush green panoramas. The whole length of the valley is almost flat and the road is all surfaced. You can swim in the famous rock pools or, when you finally reach Springbrook National Park, with dramatic escarpments towering all around, you can cool off under waterfalls in the rainforest.
For a family day out find the car park that gives access to the Currumbin estuary, right behind Palm Beach (at the junction of Gold Coast Highway and Thrower Drive). Stroll over the sand and hop into the shallows for a quick swim before you start, or get straight on your bikes and plunge into the thicket of Tarrabora Reserve as the path begins your expedition up Currumbin Creek.
Take the left fork in the trees and as you emerge you'll find yourself on wooden boards over sand. After riding beneath Gold Coast Highway the path becomes an elevated boardwalk once more, this time weaving its way through mangroves. You are politely asked to dismount for this 600m stretch, but it's an extraordinary passage up the estuary. When the tide's in, you're above the lapping water, when it's out you can look down on little armies of soldier crabs on manoeuvres in the mud.
Saddle up in the next car park, cross the road and take the upstream footpath over Throwers Bridge. Turn right down the side of Smithy's Boatshed, where you can grab breakfast by the water if you've missed out, then follow the path up the river. This will take you past the RSL, then under the Pacific Motorway into the quiet suburban river-life of Michael Drive. About 700m further on, you'll cross a little metal bridge and follow the slightly more industrial Davall Street on to Currumbin Creek Road.
Hop over the next lights and it's worth taking the footpath for the next two blocks. The path avoids traffic heading for the motorway and runs away from the road, through trees. You then have to get back on the Currumbin Creek Road, which becomes narrower, but much less busy. Round the first bend and it seems like you're out in the bush.
There are picturesque old Queenslander houses in paddocks and the river here is calm, deep and green. A bike lane pops up shortly and assists you for several kilometres. Little clumps of dwellings, including a smart new ecovillage, become less frequent, but as the steep sides of the valley press in on either side, the road never rises more than an easy undulation. Kookaburras, red-tailed black cockatoos and forest kingfishers can all be seen darting overhead, although you're as likely to see chickens and bush turkeys crossing the road.
At 11km from the start you'll pass a left turn that runs steeply up into forest. This is the start of the Tomewin Currumbin Creek Road and if you're up for a longer, tougher ride this road climbs up to Tomewin on the rim of the Mount Warning caldera and the NSW-Queensland border and then drops down the back way into Murwillumbah. Head that way and you'll get fantastic views of the Tweed Valley and a good workout for strong legs.
Four kilometres further down the Currumbin Valley, however, you'll reach the first good opportunity for a break or a picnic. The rock pools here are a popular spot for tourists and there are toilets and shelters. Cliffs and woods back the main pool and you can take your turn to scramble up and jump from a pretty good height into the deep water.
There isn't much traffic past this point. What was a largish river is now a confident creek and the wallabies and pademelons aren't bold, but they're braver than you might expect. The towering 500m heights on either side draw in and the road ends with a twist into deep green and a low cement bridge to cross to enter Springbrook National Park. You can leave your bike in the car park or walk it up the surfaced path to the wooden lookouts over the waterfalls and pools of the rainforest. Or you can rock-hop up the river and cool off in these less-frequented waters.
Cycling back down the valley is just as easy as your outward journey. Although there is fresh water at the first set of rock pools, there is nowhere else along the route to refresh your stocks, so carry all the food you'll need. If you're starving when you get back to Currumbin the RSL has an award-winning restaurant and tables overlooking the river.
If you're on holiday and didn't bring your bike, Palm Beach Supercycle is just a couple of blocks north of the start location on Gold Coast Highway. They have some mountain bikes for hire at $25 per day (or $75 for a week) with helmet and chain thrown in.
Currumbin Valley is a great ride just there and back on a fast bike. But if you've got the time and the inclination, it can be a fantastic day riding, exploring and having fun in the peace, warmth and nature of scenic south-east Queensland.