Burleigh Head is a small national park at

Burleigh Heads Burleigh Heads is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Burleigh Heads had a population of 10,077 people. Geography Burleigh Head is a cape () jutting into the Coral Sea at the northern mouth of Tallebudgera C ...

in the

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being th ...

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. Th ...

, Australia.

Geography

The park is south of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. The park is tiny yet it contains a diverse range of habitats.

Tallebudgera Creek The Tallebudgera Creek is a creek located in South East Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of . The river is approximately in length and is known for good fishing. Course ...

enters the ocean directly south of the park. No camping is permitted in the park. Access is via the

Gold Coast Highway Gold Coast Highway links the coastal suburbs of the Gold Coast in south eastern Queensland such as Miami, Mermaid Beach, Tugun, Bilinga to the Tweed Heads suburb of Tweed Heads West in New South Wales. At in length, the highway runs jus ...

which passes by the park. An information centre is available. Burleigh Head National Park is a popular place for hiking, walkers and joggers because it located in a cool climate and provides great views. There are two walking tracks in the national park, one climbing the hill to the summit which is about 88 m above sea level, called the Rainforest circuit and another leading around the headland just above sea level called the Ocean view circuit. Watching migrating whales from within the park is another popular activity.

Landform

The headland has steep sides and is 80 m in height. The formation of the Burleigh headland began between 23 and 25 million years ago. At this time the Tweed Volcano was active. Molten basalt lava from the volcano flowed all the way down the valleys and eroded them all. The valleys were covered in hardened sedimentary rocks before reaching what is now the Burleigh headland. Along Tallebudgera Creek there are rocky platforms and sandy beaches. On the seaside part of the park are black boulders at the base of a cliff. Upstream tidal Tallebudgera Creek has a mangrove environment. The headland is an important cultural site for the local Aboriginal tribe known as the Minjungbal people.

Flora

The park preserves remnant areas of rainforest and mangrove forests. Western parts are dominated by dry eucalypt forest containing species such as

brush box ''Lophostemon confertus'' (syn. ''Tristania conferta''), is an evergreen tree native to Australia, though it is cultivated in the United States and elsewhere. Common names include brush box, Queensland box, Brisbane box, pink box, box scrub, a ...

forest red gum ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...

and

grey ironbark ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gro ...

. On the seaward facing slopes are Swamp she-oak, native hibiscus tree and '' Pandanus'' palms. There are also areas of heathland and tussock grassland.

Fauna

The

Australian brush-turkey The Australian brushturkey or Australian brush-turkey or gweela (''Alectura lathami''), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a common, widespread species of mound-building bird from the family Megapodiidae found in eastern ...

brahminy kite The brahminy kite (''Haliastur indus''), formerly known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harrie ...

sea eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Taxonomy and evolution The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...

s and

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...

s can be found in the park. There are also

lace monitor The lace monitor or tree goanna (''Varanus varius'') is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it can reach in total length and in weight. The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species ...

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

s, mountain brushtail possums,

common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Aus ...

s and common ringtail possums.

Rainbow lorikeets The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. S ...

are commonly seen feeding on blossoms in the park.

Walking track

The park contains a popular walking track, known as the Oceanview Track, which connects Burleigh Heads and Tallebudgera Creek. In December 2014, the track was closed due to boulders smashing into the path as they cascaded down the slopes. The track was re-opened in mid-2015 after further at-risk boulders and rock fragments were removed.

References