It’s a well-known beach for surfing with rocks on the right (facing the sea), and when the waves are good, you get the best regular break (waves that break towards the right). It has long been, and still is, a popular break among surfers and is always crowded.
The open area on the gently sloping hill above the rocks is the best spot to watch the surfing.
You get an unbroken view of the coastline stretching as far as Surfers Paradise and the high-rise buildings along the seafront.
The hill is covered in lawn and the views are excellent, so it’s a great place to relax.
It seems if you go to Burleigh Hill on a weekend, or even on a weekday, you are pretty well bound to find people watching the surf; older experienced surfers, probably locals, standing around talking as if there will always be someone there to chat with while checking out the waves; people having a picnic; people napping; friends hanging out chatting; and couples on dates. It’s a place that people seem naturally attracted to.
Unlike Japan, shopping centers close at 4:00 pm and cafes close at 3:00 pm on the Gold Coast even on weekends, so there’s surprisingly little to do.
This is the environment Aussies live in, so they are good at taking it easy in nature, not doing anything in particular, just relaxing.
And Burleigh Hill really is a great place to take it easy.
The other day, I came to Burleigh Heads on a weekday to go for a walk, but the waves were big that day, so Burleigh Hill was filled with people enjoying themselves watching the surfers. Even though it was a weekday, there were lots of people there, which is unsurprising in Australia.
At times like that it’s dangerous in the water unless you are an advanced surfer with some experience, so all the surfers in the water were good, which made things more enjoyable for the people watching.
There were also a few people here and there taking photos of the surfers with telephoto cameras. The sight of the surfers riding the big waves and going into tubes was quite spectacular, and eventually I got the urge to take some photos.
Three or four years ago, they built a restaurant and bar called Burleigh Pavilion at the bottom of Burleigh Hill, which further boosted Burleigh Heads’ popularity as a spot to get together with friends and family. The restaurant is so popular that on weekends you’ll find a long line of people waiting at the entrance. It's an upmarket restaurant with ocean views from its open terrace, which is now making it a “hot spot for people to get together.”
Burleigh Heads has long been a favorite place among surfers and locals and is still popular today, but the population has recently been increasing and the parking lots are getting crowded, so finding a place to park your car is quite a problem.
In the past, parking lots run by the Councils (the bodies that govern cities and towns) were free, but a number of years ago they started charging to park. Charging for parking didn’t result in more parking spots becoming available, however, so sometimes you have to drive around and around before you find one. On weekends, it gets very crowded, so I just don’t go there when it’s like that.
The battle starts with trying to find a place to park, and then, assuming you do find somewhere to park your car and manage to get up the Hill, there are so many people there you may end up getting tired just getting there, even though it’s such a nice spot to relax. But, it's such an attractive spot that it still draws people to it, and they do go there even if they have to go through the whole rigmarole.
If you get the opportunity to visit the Gold Coast, why not try spending a weekday (LOL) relaxing on Burleigh Hill, gazing out at the sea!
There are always lots of people on Burleigh Hill, even on weekdays.
A great spot to sit on green grass and look out at the beautiful sea.
You can see the built-up area around Surfers Paradise in the distance.
I tried taking this photo of a surfer riding a wave with the camera on my mobile phone, but the image quality isn’t very good is it…
