Beautiful region covering Agnes Water, 1770 and Tannum Sands
Heading to the Discovery Coast in Queensland?
Well, if you are looking to visit some of the best beaches in the area you are in luck. I have written an entire post about it!
Here is how it is structured.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. 9 Best Discovery Coast Beaches
2.1 Agnes Water Beach
2.2 Seventeen Seventy (1770)
2.3 Tannum Sands
2.4 Lady Musgrave Island
2.5 Deepwater National Park
2.6 Boyne Island
2.7 Eurimbula National Park
2.8 Rules Beach
3. Final Thought
4. FAQs
Hopefully this post will inspire you to pay a visit to this lovely part of Central Queensland.
(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you interact with them).
Read Time: 7 Minutes
Introduction
Have you heard of the Discovery Coast?
If you haven’t, then you might just be in for a lovely surprise!
Stretching from just past Bargara to Gladstone, this fabulous part of Central Queensland is known as the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
While Agnes Water and the Town of 1770 (its two most prominent seaside towns) may be places you are familiar with, there are several other beaches you can head to in this area that you might not be aware of.
So, please keep reading until the end to discover some of the most beautiful stretches of the Queensland coastline you didn’t know existed.
Here are the 8 best beaches of the Discovery Coast.
9 Best Discovery Coast Beaches
Planning on visiting the Discovery Coast in Queensland? Here are nine of the best beaches to you should go to when you are there.
Agnes Water Beach
Agnes Water Beach is considered the northernmost surf beach on the east coast of Australia. So it is worth hitting the waves when you are there, especially if you are heading further north.
Stretching for 6 km, the beach is popular with longboarders who tend to congregate at The Point. But even if you aren’t into riding the swell, it is worth coming here to Agnes Waters Beach to enjoy stand up paddleboarding, kitesurfing or just enjoying its beautiful surrounds.
The patrolled beach is great for swimming and extends all the way to the Seventeen Seventy headland.
If you come here in November and December you might see mother turtles nesting their young, while at other times of the year, the Agnes Water Triathlon’ and ‘Reef2Beach Longboard Classic’ also take place on its golden sands.
Whatever time of the year you visit this part of the Discovery Coast, you’ll be able to enjoy camping and beachfront accommodation at the Agnes Water Beach Holidays Caravan Park.
Seventeen Seventy (1770)
Sometimes written as the Town of 1770 or even just 1770, Seventeen Seventy, is a lovely coastal town that is twinned with Agnes Water. It is well known for being the second place Captain James Cook and the rest of the crew of The Endeavour rocked up to on the east coast of Australia in May 1770.
The beautiful seaside community is flanked on three sides by Bustard Bay and the Coral Sea and is a popular spot for fishing, swimming and paddleboarding. This takes place at the picturesque 1770 Foreshore, which features a grassed picnic areas, extensive boardwalk, children’s playground, barbecues and picnic tables.
Seventeen Seventy is renowned for accommodating several rocky granite outcrops that make excellent scenic vistas that provide plenty of exceptional photo opportunities.
It is also a noted departure point for fishing charters and reef cruises to the Southern Great Barrier Reef and nearby Lady Musgrave Island.
Tannum Sands
There is some debate as to whether Tannum Sands is on the Discovery Coast or not. But I have included it because it is only an hour north of Seventeen Seventy and Agnes Water.
Situated just a 20 minute drive from Gladstone, the town is twinned with nearby Boyne Island, and is known for being a coastal area where the forest meets the sea.
Its beach is an excellent destination for swimming all year round, due to the waters of the Coral Sea being quite warm. It also attracts plenty of water sports enthusiasts who come here for paragliding, jet-skiing, stand-up paddleboarding and windsurfing.
Not from the beach, cyclists and joggers have their fun too on the Turtleway Bikeway which runs for 20 km between Tannum Sands and Boyne Island.
Within it are green spaces, children’s playgrounds, fitness stations, picnic tables and barbecues that give you everything you need to set yourself up for a family day of fun.
Lady Musgrave Island
Set within the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave Island is home to some of the best beaches on the Discovery Coast. You can reach it via a boat trip from the Town of 1770 or Bundaberg, the latter of which involves a two hour transit.
The island is a coral cay with a landmass of just 19.45 hectares. However, what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in pristine beauty. Its golden sands are perfect for sunbathing, while just off-shore is a huge reef that brims with vibrant coral and colourful marine life, ideal for snorkelling.
Lady Elliot Island is also a terrific spot for whale watching, while dolphins, turtles and manta rays can also be regularly spotted. Many people come here on a day trip from the mainland, though you can choose to stay for a night or two at the Lady Musgrave Island Eco Resort.
Deepwater National Park
The gorgeous Deepwater National Park is nestled between Agnes Water to its north and Rules Beach to its south. It boasts a huge, pristine coastal landscape that accommodates a patchwork of freshwater creeks, deserted sandy beaches and eucalypt woodlands that can be explored both on foot or four-wheel-drive.
A popular spot for camping, this park is home to emus, wallabies and many species of bird life. This area is also unique in that the stretch of beaches that runs from Agnes Waters to Wreck Rock are the only places on the mainland in Australia where the endangered and rare leatherback turtles comes to nest every year.
Visitors can spend their day beach walking, exploring rocks pools, fishing or kayaking in the protected waters of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
At night, they can sleep under a starry sky at either Middle Rock or Wreck Rock camping areas.
Boyne Island
As mentioned earlier, Boyne Island is twinned with Tannum Sands on the Discovery Coast in Queensland. It can be accessed via a 25 km drive south from Gladstone, a journey which involves crossing a bridge that spans the scenic Boyne River.
Like Tannum Sands, this area features pristine beaches, parklands, riverside walkways and plenty of recreational and leisure activities.
It is also home to the largest Aluminium Smelter in Australia, which uses more electricity than anything else in Queensland.
When you are not sunbathing on the beaches, fishing in the river, or camping at Lilley’s Beach, it is worth popping into the Smelter Visitor Centre.
There you’ll be able to find out more about the facility, which produces more than 558,000 tonnes of Aluminium every year and employs around 1,300 people.
Eurimbula National Park
Set within the locality of the same name, Eurimbula National Park resides within the Gladstone Region of the Discovery Coast, not far from Agnes Water.
The protected area sits on land traditionally owned by the Gooreng Gooreng Aboriginal people. It comprises a breathtaking landscape of freshwater paperbark swamps, mangrove-fringed estuaries, tall rainforests, lowland eucalypt woodlands, and sandy island beaches, that seems to have changed little in hundreds of years.
Hiking is one of the most popular activities at Eurimbula National Park, especially along sandy shorelines that accommodate rock pools and jagged boulders. While at high tide, canoeing and boating along Eurimbula Creek showcase white-bellied sea eagles and cormorants in their natural habitat.
You’ll also find plenty of great fishing spots along this waterway.
For those who enjoy camping, there are five camps you can choose from, though you’ll need to get a permit before you can do this.
Rules Beach
Named after the Rule family – one of the early pioneering families in the area – Rules Beach is one of my favourite beaches in Australia, let alone the Discovery Coast.
Characterised by a long stretch of coastline that spans several miles between Baffle Creek and Broadwater Creek, it is the only beach on the Discovery Coast where driving a Four Wheel Drive vehicle is legally permitted. It is also the major route to get to the mouth of Broadwater Creek by vehicle.
Given its remoteness and lack of amenities, the beach very rarely has more than a few people on it. Infact, whilst nudity is not legal there it is an ideal beach for sunbathing in your birthday suit.
Two camping areas are accessible from Rules Beach, with the Mouth of Baffle Creek located just one kilometre south of the beach access point and Broadwater located seven kilometres to the north.
Best places to stay on the Discovery Coast:
(Click here to make a booking at any of the hotels below)
1. Sandy Burrows
2. 1770 Beach Shacks
3. Reef Adventureland Motor Inn
4. Boyne Island Motel and Villas
5. Sonnys Piece Of Paradise
6. Amare in Agnes Water
7. Shore Break holiday home
8. Captain Cook Holiday Village 1770
9. Bustard Bay Lodge
10. Tannum On The Beach Motel
Final Thought
The Discovery Coast might not be as popular a Queensland beach holiday destination as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast or even Tropical North Queensland, in terms of visitor numbers. But you should not discount it as a place to visit.
In my opinion, the beaches in this part of Central Queensland stack up very well in comparison with its more illustrious contemporaries.
Moreover, as they receive fewer tourists (Agnes Water and 1770 excepted), you can enjoy everything they have to offer in relative peace and quiet.
FAQs
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the Discovery Coast in Queensland.
Where is the Discovery Coast?
The Discovery Coast is an area in Central Queensland that covers an area roughly from Bargara to Gladstone. It is regarded as the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
What are some of the best beaches on the Discovery Coast?
There are quite a few beaches you can visit on the Discovery Coast. The likes of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy are the most well known. However, other excellent beaches in the area you can go to include Rules Beach and Tannum Sands.
