As many of you already know I’ve recently moved from the Gold Coast in Queensland to just over the border to Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast in New South Wales. Although it’s been a long time in the making – as we bought a vacant block of land and started from scratch, it has been fully worth the effort. In fact my first month of Kingscliff living has been sublime.

Kingscliff

Kingscliff is located on the Tweed Coast only 15 kilometres from Tweed Heads, and has long been a favourite for holidaymakers for its superb proximity to beautiful beaches and a tidal creek. The village has great facilities, with everything you need, from a newly renovated pub, two caravan parks, schools and TAFE college, library, sports grounds and swimming pool, great shops, bowls and surf clubs, numerous restaurants and cafes, a small cinema, yoga and pilates studio, medical, legal and dental services and a small supermarket.

The newly refurbished promenade in Kingscliff

The foreshore has undergone a fresh new revamp with parks, pathways, picnic facilities and seating all being created. Kingscliff has a strong sense of community and pride in its little village and hopefully will retain this in the years to come. At present there are no high rises above 3 stories, no traffic lights or double lane roads. However the new Tweed Valley Hospital is very controversially being constructed on a large plot of land just outside the township.

The iconic wooden Lifesaver statues outside the Cudgen Surf Club

Kingscliff Beaches

There are extensive pristine beaches along the Kingscliff coastline, known as Wommin Bay, and the good thing is that they are uncrowded and also dog friendly. Walking north you can access the beach from numerous paths from the parklands fringing the beach that eventually leads you to the magnificent Dreamtime Beach that joins up with Fingal Head. This beach is a dog off the leash area and is perfect for giving your furry friend a good run and swim.

Dog friendly Dreamtime Beach in North Kingscliff

Walking south of the Cudgen Creek breakwall there is another superb beach with some rocky outcrops that eventually brings you to Casuarina Beach. There are lifeguard towers strategically placed in Kingscliff village itself, outside the Cudgen Surf Club, to the north near the North Kingscliff Caravan Park and to the south at Salt Village.

Kingscliff Beach on the south of the breakwall

Kingscliff Beaches also offer some great surf with world-class beach breaks and the Cudgen reef creating a lovely right-hander. The Australian Longboard Surfing Open is held at Kingscliff every year, one of the biggest World Surf League longboard events in Australia.

Kingscliff Surf Beach

Cudgen Creek

This estuarine creek is tidal and enters the ocean on the southern end of the town where there is a manmade rock breakwall constructed to allow boats to enter the ocean safely at high tide.

The breakwall at Cudgen Creek

The creek itself has beautiful little sandy beaches and the water is crystal clear. It’s perfect for swimming, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. There are always Pelicans on the creek and it even has its own resident Ospreys that are seen hovering aloft.

Cudgen Creek Pelicans

Alongside the creek there is a boardwalk that leads to a lovely park and a bridge that crosses the creek and continues on to Salt Village and Casuarina. Of a weekend and public holidays you can hire kayaks or stand up paddle boards just near the bridge from a local water craft rental business. On the eastern side of the creek there are also green spaces for picnics and places to swim or fish off the shores of the creek.

Sandy beach on Cudgen Creek

Kingscliff Markets

Markets are aplenty in Kingscliff. On the first Friday night of the month there are the Kingscliff Night Markets that consist of a few arts and crafts stalls, numerous food trucks and live music. It’s an extremely family friendly spot for a night out with the kids as there is plenty of green spaces for the kids to run wild.

Food trucks at the Kingscliff Night Markets

On the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month there are the Kingscliff Beachside Markets located in the park fringing the beach north of the Bowls Club. These markets are fantastic with loads of stalls offering clothing, giftware, homewares, baskets, home cooked delicacies, fresh fruit and veggies, plants and local arts and crafts.

Kingscliff Beach Saturday Morning Markets

Every Saturday morning there are Farmer’s Markets at Kingscliff TAFE College that offer a great assortment of locally grown produce, fruit and vegetables, bread, cakes and honey.

Where to Eat & Drink in Kingscliff

The entire main street of Kingscliff is bursting with a cafe culture, with coffee shops, cafe/restaurants, take-aways, a pub, surf club, bowls club and a couple of up market restaurants.

Taverna Greek Restaurant in Kingscliff

Friday or Saturday nights are great for a drink and club food from either Cudgen Surf Club or Kingscliff Bowls Club – as they both offer the best views in town. The Surf Club, Bowls Club and the Kingscliff Pub all feature live music on the weekends. Brothers Cafe has Friday night happy hour with $5 wines and craft beer, plus live music.

Sunset views from the balcony at Cudgen Surf Club

There are plenty of great cafes for coffee, breakfast or brunch. We like Brothers Cafe, Mockingbird, Kettles On and Choux Box. For a special night out I would recommend Taverna Greek or Fins Seafood restaurants.

Casuarina & Salt Village

Just south of Kingscliff is the newly developed Salt Village and Casuarina village. Here you will find a couple of large resorts, Peppers Salt Resort & Spa, Mantra on Salt Beach and Oaks Santai Resort,  plus Salt Village with a pub, surf club, shops and restaurants. Plus it has a shopping centre further south with a large supermarket and several shops.

Salt Village

It is particularly interesting to see some of the beautifully designed beach houses along this stretch of coastline as they have been built intrinsically with the natural coastal environment.

A canopy of Casuarina trees on the pathway

There is a pathway that follows the beach right along from the southern end of Kingscliff to Salt Village and Casuarina. Sections of the pathway are raised onto boardwalks and there are lovely tree canopies, coastal vegetation and a few pieces of artwork in the form of sculptures alongside the path. Every now and again you get glimpses of the ocean that’s accessible with sandy paths down onto the beach.

A picnic spot at Salt Beach

If you feel energetic you can even walk or cycle further south to the village of Cabarita Beach, a distance of 10 kilometres. It’s a fairly flat walk or ride with only a few little bumps to negotiate.

Cudgen

Fertile farmlands of Cudgen

The rural village and farmlands of Cudgen are only 6 kilometres west of Kingscliff. It is worth a drive to admire the rural scenery and rich red soil of this area that is perfect for growing all sorts of crops. There is the newly opened Farm & Co. where you can purchase organic and fresh local produce from The Farm Stall, or stroll around the farm for $5 entry fee or stop for a coffee and some tasty treats at their newly opened cafe.

Farm and Co fresh produce shop

There is also a very good plant nursery here, called Kingscliff Nursery with an extensive range of plants available and also some friendly Alpacas that are accessible on designated open days at the nursery.

Fingal Head

Fingal Head Lighthouse

Only a 10 minute drive north of Kingscliff is the small village of Fingal Head. The headland here has a small cute lighthouse with panoramic views towards Tweed Heads and Kingscliff and out to Cook Island. Just below the headland are the cluster of volcanic rocks called Giant’s Causeway. The beaches in either direction are pristine and relatively uncrowded and a perfect alternative to the busy Gold Coast beaches.

Giant’s Causeway, Fingal Head

Tropical Fruit World

A great local attraction that is only 8 kilometres west of Kingscliff, is Tropical Fruit World in Duranbah. Here you can tour the large fruit orchard that grows a variety of fruits from all over the world. Plus you also get to taste them! It also features a farm owned fruit market – Plantation Markets, and a regional dining and event venue – Plantation House, coupled with a unique collection of skincare and food products – The Plantation Collection.

The farm tour at Tropical Fruit World. Image credit: Tropical Fruit World

Tweed Coast Drive

Of course if you want to explore more of the Tweed Coast, it’s beaches, estuaries, lakes and villages, then drive in a southerly direction and discover this magical strip of coastline. Cabarita Beach, Hastings Point, Pottsville and Wooyung are all very close together and all have a laid-back easy-going vibe. I think that this is what I love the most about Kingscliff living!

Cabarita Beach on the Tweed Coast

Have you made a sea change? Please tell me all about in the comments.