Guide to Godwin Beach Queensland Australia

Godwin Beach is a tiny seaside settlement at the northern end of Deception Bay, about 60 kilometres north of Brisbane and a few minutes from the bridge to Bribie Island. With a single esplanade of houses facing a quiet shoreline, it is one of the most peaceful spots on the bay, valued by birdwatchers, photographers and anyone looking for stillness.

Known For

• A tranquil shoreline with sweeping bay views
• Shorebirds, mangroves and tidal flats
• Easy access to Bribie Island and Pumicestone Passage

The settlement faces south over the bay, which gives it an unusual outlook along the whole curve of the coast to the Redcliffe Peninsula, with Moreton Island on the horizon. A narrow foreshore reserve separates the Esplanade from the water. There are no shops, and the nearest services are at Sandstone Point and Ningi.

Godwin Beach is a detour for those who enjoy quiet places. An hour here, at the right tide, is time well spent.

Things To Do in Godwin Beach

The Foreshore

A strip of parkland along the Esplanade has picnic tables, shelters and a small playground under shady trees. The beach itself is a mix of sand, mud and mangroves, more suited to walking and wading than swimming. At low tide the bay empties to reveal wide flats, and at high tide the water comes right up to the grass.

Birdwatching

The flats and mangroves are a feeding ground for shorebirds and are protected as part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. In the warmer months, migratory waders from the northern hemisphere join the resident pelicans, egrets, herons, oystercatchers and terns. Sea eagles and ospreys hunt along the shore. The hours around low tide, early or late in the day, are best.

Photography and Views

The open southerly aspect and the pattern of sandbars, mangroves and water make Godwin Beach a favourite with landscape photographers, especially at sunrise and sunset and under a full moon. On clear days the towers of Brisbane can be picked out to the south.

Fishing and Paddling

Anglers wade the flats and fish the channels for whiting, flathead and bream, and the area is known for mud crabs. Kayaks and paddleboards can be launched at high tide to explore the mangrove edges, where dugongs and turtles are occasionally seen feeding on the seagrass.

Sandstone Point and Bribie Island

A few minutes to the north, Sandstone Point looks across Pumicestone Passage to Bribie Island and has a large waterfront hotel that hosts outdoor concerts. The bridge to Bribie, with its surf beach, national park and calm passage beaches, is five minutes away.

Where To Stay

There is almost no accommodation in Godwin Beach itself.

A small number of holiday houses along the Esplanade can be rented for a quiet stay with water views.

Nearby Sandstone Point has a holiday resort with villas, cabins and caravan sites beside a hotel on the passage, and Bribie Island offers motels, apartments and caravan parks.

Caboolture, 20 minutes west, has motels and all services.

Eat & Drink

There are no cafes or shops, so bring a picnic. The foreshore tables are a pleasant place to eat with the bay in front.

The waterfront hotel at Sandstone Point has several restaurants and bars with views over the passage, including an oyster shed and a fish and chip outlet. More cafes and restaurants are found at Bongaree on Bribie Island, and there are shops and takeaways at Ningi.

History

Godwin Beach is in the country of the Gubbi Gubbi people, who harvested oysters, fish and dugong from these waters. Nearby Sandstone Point was the site of a large Aboriginal fish trap and midden.

European oystermen worked the bay from the 1870s, and the settlement began as a handful of fishing shacks. It is named after an early landholder. A small subdivision followed in the mid-twentieth century, and little has changed since.

Getting to Godwin Beach

By car Godwin Beach is about an hour from central Brisbane. Leave the Bruce Highway at the Bribie Island exit, follow Bribie Island Road east for about 15 kilometres and turn off at Ningi or Sandstone Point.

There is no practical public transport. Parking along the Esplanade is free.

Nearest Airport: Brisbane