"Murwillumbah and the Border Ranges " a Murwillumbah Travel Page by tiabunna

After finding the drive north from Coffs Harbour to Brisbane absolutely infuriating (scenic, but narrow, congested and infested with revenue-raising fixed speed cameras), by the time we were near the state border we felt the need for an alternative to the highly touristic Gold Coast, even though the road had improved. A change of direction through Murwillumbah proved the ideal solution.

Murwillumbah (another of those Aussie names – the will is pronounced wool) is situated on the Tweed River and has always been the administrative centre for the district, with industries based on sugar, bananas, timber and dairying. The Pacific Highway once passed through but now bypasses it: and, in general, so does rampant development. The soils are rich, the rainfall high, and Murwillumbah quietly goes its way. Not far away, as “Gold Coast-style development” proceeds, you will find subdivisions galore along the coast, highrise buildings popping up, and little fishing villages which are being transformed into ‘big money’ growth centres.

What cannot be ignored is the landscape-dominating 1160 metre peak of Mount Warning, the extinct core of a giant volcano. Murwillumbah is smack in the core of that volcano’s caldera, the largest in the southern hemisphere and one of the world’s largest. The surrounding ranges are the former crater walls, topped by lava flows which extend north to Mt Tamborine in Queensland. Don’t worry, it hasn’t fired for over 20 million years.

So come with me for an alternative route to Brisbane, bypassing the Gold Coast and taking in some magnificent scenery and national parks.