I’ve driven passed this tourist sign so many times and never gone in to have a look, so we decided to go check it out to occupy our Sunday morning.
Tinchi Tamba Wetlands is on the North Pine River, about 2.5kms upstream from Osprey House 
. Tinchi Tamba is named after the Aboriginal words for ibis and mangroves.
The park is catered well with tables and seating, electric BBQs, and a toilet block. New covered tables were ready to be built, with some already done.
A partially covered platform is on the edge of the river where you can fish from, and fish cleaning tables are along there for when you get your big catch. There are plenty of spots to fish from along the river. We didn’t fish ourselves, but others fishing caught a couple while we watched.
If you prefer to fish from a boat, a boat ramp is further along the river. Canoeing or kayaking is catered for with canoe trails along North Pine River, starting from the boat ramp, a 4km Island Trail, and a 9km Eagle Trail. There is additional parking area near the boat ramp. The canoe and kayaking trails can be seen on the wetlands track map, available in the links section below.
Trail walks starting next to the boat ramp, take you through the mangroves, tidal wetlands and bushland with eucalypt and paperbark trees. Information panels along the way give hints on what plants and wildlife to look out for. The Island Circuit Track is a 3km loop, some parts are walking along the ground and other parts on elevated wooden boardwalks. Some of the ground-based trail has boards running across it, presumably to protect against erosion or help drainage from the trail. Along the southern side, the boards became a little annoying underfoot but the walk was still enjoyable.
Daniel (8-year-old son) spotted an osprey, hunting along the shores of the North Pine River, and later hovering in the wind above us. The last time we went to Osprey House we didn’t see ospreys, and here we saw one twice. Jack and Daniel stopped to look at the crabs crawling around the mangrove mud in the low tide.
The second walk is 1km return walk, called the Birdhide Track. At the end of the track? Yep, a bird hide, for viewing wading birds across the river. The bird hide has information panels showing the types of birds to look for.
As usual, it is best to carry water for the walks, and wear sunscreen. We didn’t have a problem with mozzies, but I can imagine they could be bad, especially early morning or late afternoon, so insect spray may be handy as well.
The parkland caters for wheelchair accessibility. The walks may be more challenging, depending on experience. Some of the boardwalk is easy going, though some of the ground has spaced outboards directly on the ground (presumably to help with muddy areas when it is wet), and these were at times annoying to walk on.