Before we go on a tour of Brisbane’s beaches, I want to show you some beaches close to Brisbane, but not in Brisbane. Firstly, just over an hour’s drive north, we have the Sunshine Coast. Here are some beaches on the Sunshine Coast…
Next, just over an hour’s drive south, we have the Gold Coast. Here are some beaches on the Gold Coast…
Pretty good-looking beaches, aren’t they?
Before we get to Brisbane’s beaches, a quick definition from Wikipedia.
Mangrove:
‘Mangroves are shrubs or small trees that grow in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S.’
Some of you, and that certainly would have included me before I moved to Brisbane, may be grateful for that definition during the course of this post.
Now, let’s weave our way down the coastline to the east of Brisbane and check out the beaches. Here is a Google map of the coast, we are going to start at the north and head down south. Please click on the image to visit Google’s interactive map of the area.
Deception Bay
Scarborough
Redcliffe
Brighton
Sandgate
Shorncliffe
Nudgee Beach
Wynnum
Manly
Lota
Wellington Point
I think you get the idea. We do have a bit of sand here and there, most of it being towards the north below Deception Bay, but it’s not that soft golden silky sand that we all love.
Further south, there is Cleveland, it has a tiny bit of sand similar to Manly and Redcliffe. I’ve been to Victoria Point, I didn’t take any photos, but I can assure you there is no golden sandy beach.
I was quite surprised by the lack of beaches myself when I first arrived in Brisbane. I remember we went to Redland Bay to have a ‘day at the beach’ with a very young Elizabeth…
But there wasn’t really any beach at all.
And that brings us back to mangroves.
Mangroves
Brisbane’s coastlines are mainly mangrove. This is what our mangroves look like close-up. They may not be as inviting as a sandy beach, but they are very good for the ecosystem. That’s probably why we are keeping them. Lovely, lovely mangroves…
So, if beaches are what you’re after, Brisbane is probably not the place for you. If you were also thinking of bringing a surfboard, it gets worse, there are no huge waves to ride. Most of our shoreline is protected by islands and bays. That’s not good for surfing.
Doesn’t bother me though, I have lived here for over eight years and absolutely love this city. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Beaches or not. And I can’t surf.
We’ve always got the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast and they’re really not that far away.
Hi Bob,
We’re thinking of moving from Sydney to Brisbane (driven by my husband really). I love the water and will miss being able to pop out for a quick bit of kayaking or stand up boarding on the lagoon or swim in one of the many ocean pools.
I can see the appeal up there but is there some sort of compromise in Brisbane – does a nice green family friendly suburb with a swimmable lake exist there?
We’ll probably have to commute to the city for work so the sunshine and Gold Coast are a bit too far out.
Thanks
Well, I’ve seen people stand up boarding on the Brisbane River, not that I would fancy it…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/19299/a-stroll-along-riverwalk-and-views-of-story-bridge-brisbane/
But they do, and I think there’s a few clubs around, maybe one at Moreton Bay.
One of my favourite spots is Colleges Crossing, just outside of western suburbs. I’ve seen people doing it there, more about that in the next link. We have a couple of lagoons, but not for paddle boarding and they are not even great for swimming really.
I don’t actually know of a lake, although I’m ready sure there’s a lake in Forest Lakes, not sure what that suburb is like though or whether people actually swim in it. Might be worth trying to check it out.
As for kayaking, see…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/19076/taking-up-a-new-sport-in-australia-kayaking/
Other than that, just live somewhere with easy access to the Sunshine or Gold Coast. Whatever water you do find around here though, it will be warmer than what you have in Sydney 🙂
Thanks Bob,
I’ll take a look into those suggestions.
I’m really enjoying reading through your page.
Hi Bob!
Me again. Messaged you on another page sometime last year to say I was moving from the USA to OZ. well, I am finally here! I have a couple questions as I may find myself moving to Brisbane for work.
1. Can you suggest suburbs near/around BHP that you think are nice and would live there? (I am thinking commute time. Ideally, 20-30 mins commute one way).
2. I will be renting but I don’t know how the rental system works here. Do I need an agent? Do I pay the agent or the owner pays the agent? A website for finding rentals? also, I notice they list rent per week…do you pay rent every week? any other info on rental in OZ would be helpful!
Well, before I can answer your first question, you need to tell me where BHP is, I have no idea 🙂
As for a website to find rentals, check out Cost of Buying or Renting a House in Australia and use the link on that page to search for available properties.
You won’t have to pay anything to find a rental, and whether you pay the owner or the agent depends on whether the owner users agent. Rent is often paid either weekly or fortnightly and you will have to pay a bond which is usually equivalent to 4 weeks rent.
If you’re looking for an apartment close to the city, there is a bit of an oversupply at the moment, so you should get a good deal. Happy househunting, Bob
Bob, bear with me, but when you say I should be able to get a good deal on apts in the city b/c of over supply, can you give me a figure/range of what you would call a good deal for a 1br apt in the city?
The short answer is prices start from around $300 per week. The long answer is click on the link I gave you in my last reply, when you get to that page click on the link to search for properties to rent, in the search box start typing the word Brisbane and some pop-ups will be suggested, select Brisbane City, QLD 4000.
Then under type of property select apartments and units and then click search. If you want cheap, select prices low to high from the drop-down menu. When I looked at it, there were nearly 2000 properties available apparently, one was $215 per week, then the next one was $295 and then it went $300 or more.
It looks boring as.
Well, it’s not Bondi or Surfers, but it’s not boring either. We have beach markets, fish and chip shops, marinas, and, of course, some pubs along the coast as well as all those lovely mangroves.
See how exciting it is? 🙂