My A-Z of Australia
B is for Burrum Heads, Queensland
Can you imagine living in a small, out-of-the way seaside village where most of the locals know each other, take the time to chat over the garden fence, where there is a feeling of real community spirit, and where neighbours actually care about each other?
When I retired, I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I wanted to find somewhere quiet where I could relax, and also enjoy my passion for photography, somewhere I could listen to the birds sing and enjoy seeing and photographing some of our unique wildlife in their natural habitat. I love the ocean, so it had to be near a beach, a place where I could enjoy long walks with my dogs, and not too hilly so I could ride my bike in comfort.
I found such a place that has all that and more . . . a sleepy little fishing village called Burrum Heads, a four hour drive north from where I lived in the city, or three hours from Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. Peace and tranquility abound in this little backwater of only 1,200 residents.
Burrum Heads
It isn’t a town you pass through on the way to some other destination, so if you miss the turn-off sign from the highway, you miss the town – there is only one road in and the same road out! The town is surrounded by National Park right down to the beach, so wildlife abounds! My passion for animals will be quenched here!
Everyone is friendly and most people know one other, at least by sight, and there is always someone ready to stop and have a chat.
One Road In . . . One Road Out
The aroma of coffee filters through the air as you walk past the shops – go grab one and sit at one of the outside tables along the row of shops across from the beach and watch the world go by. Unwind and relax - it’s that kind of place!
There are not many shops here, but enough for the necessities of life – the nearest reasonable sized town is half an hour away.
Burrum has a
- Supermarket
- Post Office
- Pharmacy
- Medical Centre
- Gas Station
- Two Hairdressers
- Butcher
- Beautician (Nails)
- Fast Food Shop
- Hardware Store that sells everything
- A Bakery who make their own fresh bread and cakes daily. Their cakes are to die for!
- And of course, a Real Estate office
Fancy eating out? Try the Pub or the Bowls Club, both serve delicious meals. There is a Library in the Community Centre where you can take a Yoga Class, or enjoy Thai Chi on the foreshore and have a laugh with the others who can’t get their co-ordination right either!
There are two caravan parks to cater for the influx of tourists who return here year after year to enjoy the fishing and sailing for which Burrum Heads is renowned. One of the caravan sites is right on the beachfront so you can wake up to an amazing ocean view every morning!
A fishing competition is held annually at Easter over two days, and people come from far and near to try their luck, as there are tempting prizes to be won! Fishing is a serious business here – the place is buzzing!
There are a few stalls selling hot and cold foods, drinks, ice cream, cotton candy, beachwear, a jumping castle for the children – and you can even take your dog!
Have a boat? No worries – there are two boat ramps to choose from to get your boat into the water. Explore the rivers and creeks in a small boat (we call them tinnies), or canoe, or just take advantage of the clear, warm water.
Life is simple here, nothing fancy, no skyscrapers, no bright lights, no crime to speak of, no traffic jams – heck, we don’t even have any traffic lights! Nope, I don’t miss city life at all!
Related articles
- My A-Z of Australia-Australia Day (passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com)
- http://wordangell.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/a-z-of-the-uk-d-for-difficult-or-maybe-dunnottar-and-dover-another-day
- http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/appetizing-adventures-beautiful-beaches/
- http://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/b-is-for-belchatow
- http://teamoyeniyi.com/2012/01/24/c-for-crime
- http://teamoyeniyi.com/2012/01/26/d-for-deprecation
Thanks so much for this glimpse into your life in an amazing community. Sounds like Paradise — as said above. Although no work makes it a limited one —
Nonetheless, sounds like it suits you both right down to the ground/sand beneath your feet!
It suits us now that we have retired; it’s a place we have always wanted to retire to, and now we’re here, enjoying every minute!
Barb…Sounds like you hit the jack pot…You found the perfect place to indulge in your passion for photography & animals…Enjoy!!!
Thanks Rayya, and I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to visit!
The photos are great, the information is wonderful, thank you for sharing this with us
Thanks for visiting Cathy, glad you enjoyed the post!
Barb, it sounds like a wonderful place! Just like my Avon,but nearly twice the size. The population is about 700. I love your town.
Twice the size? Wow – can’t wait to see your little town of Avon then!
Sounds exactly like my kind of place, Barb! You are so lucky to live there.
After all these lovely comments, I realize just how lucky I am Denise. Thanks for stopping by my dear friend.
Such a wonderful place to be in, with a community who either know you by name or by sight. Not to mention it’s near the ocean, I love the beach – there is just so much peace in there…
I agree with your hubbhy, after all of this A-Z’s why not compile them and publish?
Anyhow, thanks for sharing Burrum Heads with us…
I love the beach too aRVee, and I’ve heard you have some beautiful beaches over there, so I have promised myself that I will get over there one day to see for myself.
The hub is sweet and very encouraging – he sneaked on here when I wasn’t looking!
Thank you for your kind comment.
Yeah, your hubby is so sweet indeed. Hopefully, your A-Z’s will get published. Who knows what the future brings…
Yeah I have to agree with you, there are a lot of beautiful beaches here as well. Some of the beautiful beaches here can be found in my province, Cebu but it’s too far to get there from the main city. Yes, I am referring to the Santa Fe beaches in Bantayan Island, Cebu then there’s Malapascua, also in the northern side of Cebu. If you choose the southern side, I would suggest the beaches in Argao and Alcoy, Cebu.
Also Panglao Island in the province of Bohol has some of the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines.
Then not to forget the ever popular here, Boracay in the province of Aklan.
Just an unsolicited advice, if you would love the serenity Burrum Heads has, then I suggest Santa Fe, Bantayan Island or Malapascua in Cebu or Panglao Island in Bohol.
But if you want to see more of countrymen, then I suggest Boracay is the place to be. Some even made the place their residence and business there is thriving. Though it’s very commercialized now, I still love the place.
Anyways, still looking forward to one day hear that news of you publishing your A-Z’s… Thanks Barb
Sounds wonderfully idyllic there… What a divine gift!
It is, Eliz!
I hve been thinking …….my wife Barb write’s so many interesting blogs …
I think she should write for kindle books!
what do you guys think..let Barb know.
Regards hubby in the background that misses nothing .
Paul
What are you doing here o “hubby in the background that misses nothing”?
This sounds like my kind of place. I love the pictures. The beach area looks lovely and so natural and unspoilt!
Thanks Carole! It is quite an unspoilt area of the Fraser Coast.
Sounds and looks heavenly!
It is exactly that Eliz!
You have sold me….when I win the lottery I am coming over there!
You’re on, granny!
Yahoo! Sounds like my/your kind of place! Living where the pace of life is slow has infinite appeal for me.
Love the photos too . . . they brought the place to life.
You would love it here Nancy, it’s your kind of place too!
Glad you liked the photos.
OMG that sounds amazing!! You are a lucky lady.
Thanks Jodi – we are very lucky!
Sounds delightful my friend. You are blessed. Margie
I guess we are Margie – and there is a lot to practice my photography skills on!
This is EXACTLY the kind of small town I’ve always wanted to live in. You’re so blessed to have found it! What a wonderful way to live.
It took us a while to find this place Daisy, and glad we did. Enjoying our retirement tremendously and it’s a great place for photographing the wildlife.
Sounds like Paradise to me! You wrote this with such warmth so I can sense in your blog how much you love your little place there! Both you and I seem to have found our places
The sandy beach looks awesome and I love how you described about the people and neighbours actually caring about one another…
It’s something we’ve always dreamed of when we talked about retiring Rebekah. It’s a bit off the beaten track, but that’s one of the things we like about it. It gets pretty busy during school holidays with tourists staying in the caravan parks and rental houses, but when they’ve gone, we have the beach all to ourselves. The neighbours on our street are lovely – very friendly and always ready to help out if we need it. It’s a place you can leave your door unlocked at night and not worry.
Sounds wonderful!
It’s out of the way, but we like it.
Hi barb19,
All I can say is every word you have written is spot on. A beautiful spot my Husband and I have been to many times, although we haven’t been there for a few years, going by your photos nothing has changed. A great post.
Thanks Mags. Something new for the town that I didn’t talk about is the new Skateboard Park for the kids! We got it last year and it’s being well used!
Still have problems with the sand flies here – and they love me! One of the drawbacks of living here I guess.
That is why they invented all those different spays you can use today, can’t beat that auroguard.
Hi Barb. You make it sound wonderful but I don’t think it would suit me – except for a visit, of course.
By the way – B is also for Bundy. When are you heading this way?
Why wouldn’t it suit you Angela – too far out of the way?
We are aiming at coming up to Bundy in the next couple of weeks – will let you know.
Why? Well, I am not a fan of the beach. While it is pleasant to walk along a beach at night, it isn’t a need. I am not a fan of crowds, and I enjoy my own company, but I DO like to have all conveniences handy. Bundy is fine for me.
put the kettle on Angie we will be up soon
Paul
Yeah Angela, probably be up in Bundy in two weeks!
The kettle is always on for you Paul – and a few nibbles too, and I’m sure I can find some trimmings for Poppy.
I would love to live in a small community like this.
It was something we always hoped to do when we retired – if we could find the right place; I guess we did!
Sounds like somewhere most of us would chose to retire to. Go on, tell me you’ve got nasty huge bugs and sticky heat to spoil the idyll? Plenty of sea to escape to though.
Love that last beach shot!
Just off to t’ai chi now, indoors of course. In Tavira I can do it up on the sunroof- roll on 17th Feb!
heheh! Yes Jo, we still have bugs and humidity to put up with (this is Australia we’re talking about!)
We have nasty little sand flies that just seems to love me – but they never touch the hub – go figure! That’s one of the things I don’t like, but put up with, for the sake of living in a place like this.
oh, it sounds wonderful!
It is a lovely place to retire to.
I love places like this. It sounds like a dream place to live.
It is quiet – just how I like it, and if you forget to lock your front door at night, no worries, there is hardly any crime here worth mentioning. Perfect!
Sounds like true paradise indeed
…Be careful though…now you’ve let the secret out! You might get a few new neighbors quite soon! 