Cardwell is a small town of 1500 people that straddles the Bruce Highway and fronts the magnificent Hinchinbrook Channel and Island. While Cardwell was settled in 1864, apart from sugarcane farms, it has avoided substantial development, with tourism likely to lead it into the next century. The town has most tourist facilities and provides the gateway to Hinchinbrook Island as well as the backing hinterland. Cardwell Beach (794) is well protected by Hinchinbrook Island and is usually calm. Consequently the beach consists of a steep, soft, 20 m wide high tide beach, fronted by mud flats at low tide. There are a jetty and boat ramp that are only useable at high tide, so watch the tides if swimming or boating. The beach faces east and is 6.5 km long, extending from the wide, sandy tidal shoals of Meunga Creek in the north to the low, mangrove-fringed mud flats of Oyster Point in the south. A major development has been proposed for Oyster Point, but is at present the subject of ongoing debate over its potential impact on the mangroves and seagrass meadows of the Hinchinbrook Channel. read more

Beach Length: 6.5km