Guide to Woodgate Queensland Australia

Woodgate, often called Woodgate Beach, is a small holiday town on the coast about 40 minutes east of Childers and an hour south of Bundaberg. A single esplanade runs along a 16-kilometre beach of pale sand and calm water, with national park behind the houses and at both ends. Kangaroos graze on front lawns, there is one pub and one main caravan park, and very little changes from year to year, which is why its regulars love it.

Known For

• A long, calm, north-facing beach with gentle water
• Kangaroos and wallabies in the streets and on the sand
• Walks and wildflowers in Burrum Coast National Park

The beach faces east and north across Hervey Bay and is sheltered by K’gari far offshore, so there is rarely any surf. The sand is firm, the slope gentle and the water clear, which makes it ideal for young families. The town itself is only a few streets deep, strung for five kilometres along the shore.

Things To Do in Woodgate

The beach

Swim, walk or cycle along the hard sand at low tide; the surf club patrols a section near the centre of town in season. Dolphins are often seen close in, turtles surface off the beach, and humpback whales pass from July to October.

Burrum Coast National Park

The park begins at the edge of town. The Banksia Track is a short loop through wallum heath, and the Melaleuca Track crosses a paperbark swamp on a boardwalk to a bird hide. From August to October the heath flowers in a mass of colour. See the guide to Burrum Coast National Park for camping and four-wheel-drive tracks.

Theodolite Creek

At the northern end of town, Theodolite Creek is a shallow, sandy inlet that fills with the tide, perfect for kayaks, paddleboards and children, with a picnic area and a boat ramp. It is also a good place to fish for whiting and flathead.

Walkers Point and the Burrum River

South of town, the road ends at Walkers Point on the Burrum River, with a boat ramp and views across to Burrum Heads. Anglers launch here for the river system and the bay.

Wildlife

Eastern grey kangaroos are everywhere at dawn and dusk; watch for them on the road. Emus are occasionally seen in the park, and sea eagles and ospreys hunt along the shore.

Where To Stay

Woodgate has a large beachfront holiday park, a few apartment complexes and motels, and many holiday houses along the Esplanade.

Winter is the busy season, when travellers from the south stay for weeks at a time, and school holidays also book out early. National park camping is available at Burrum Point by four-wheel drive.

Eat & Drink

The Woodgate Beach Hotel is the town’s pub, with a bistro and a garden. There is also a bowls club with meals, a cafe or two, a bakery, takeaways and a small supermarket.

History

The coast is the country of the Butchulla and Taribelang Bunda peoples. The first holiday huts were built in the early 1900s by cane farmers from the Isis district around Childers, who came by horse and cart across the wallum plains. A sealed road arrived in the 1960s, and the surrounding heathland was protected as national park from the 1970s, which has kept the town from spreading.

Getting to Woodgate

Leave the Bruce Highway just north of Childers and follow Goodwood Road east for about 40 kilometres. From Bundaberg it is around 55 kilometres by way of Goodwood. There is no public transport.