There’s something about Straddie.
Nestled east of the bay side suburbs of Moreton Bay, North Stradbroke Island is well serviced by barges and passenger ferries, seven days a week.
Every so often one of the carries, Stradbroke Ferries, runs specials to get holiday makers over there at reduced prices.
It was one of those specials that Anne and I took advantage of and for a meagre $100 odd dollars, booked a return trip for the 4WD and the Go Anywhere Trailer.
The trip from home to the ferry terminal lasted a whole 3 minutes (I can see Straddy in the distance from my street) and 45 minutes later we were driving down the barge loading ramp onto the Island.
Stradbroke Island is a base for rutile sand mining that will be ending shortly due to a deal done between the Labor Government and the Greens. Too bad about the 400 jobs that will go down the drain when the gates are locked!
Queensland is one of the few states in this country that allows driving on beaches. Stradbroke Island is just the place to do that and should be on everyone’s bucket list and perhaps pushed to the top of that list as a priority.
The reason I say that is that the Government will in all likelihood hand over control of the Island to the ANPWS or similar body who will immediately ban the taking vehicles onto the beach.
That will be the end of Straddy as a fishing tourism destination but really, does the government care? Nup, highly doubt that; they are more interested in keeping their bums in a political seat (they need the Green’s preferences to do this) so will cut a swath through recreational activities to honour their end of the deal. Sad isn’t it!
Anyway, Straddy has a great pub for a daylight meal at Pt Lookout which is the old whaling lookout and at the right time of the year you can still see these mammals either travelling north or south along the coast while you look through the froth on the top of your glass.
These whales often come close to land so it is a spectacle worth pursuing.
Plenty of coffee shops abound around the coastal corner of Pt Lookout and if in need of fishing gear there is a great tackle shop at Amity Point where is where the Stradbroke Ferry pulls into.
At the right time of year you can get salmon off many of the beaches but especially so Main Beach which is the eastern side of the Island and most of the time you can catch whiting and dart out of the shallows around the land mass.
A couple of council (soon to be indigenous) operated caravan parks are in great positions and there is plenty of beach camping to be had as well.
Like Fraser Island to the north, Stradbroke Island is one of the places that should be visited before it is locked up forever and allowed to revert to woody weeds and the mess that a place becomes when there is little or no human visitation.

If you are into shooting you can jump into the video page on this site and see a short DVD I have put together on how to run in a new rifle barrel.

Good fishing and shooting.

Rick