North Stradbroke Island

As our time in Australia has been wrapping up, Autumn and I decided to go on one more short trip before we head back home to America. We took the train from the Gold Coast up to Brisbane on Monday (6/25) and spent the night in the city.

Yesterday (6/26) we went on a full day guided tour of North Stradbroke Island. It was just a short (50 min.) ferry ride from Brisbane. "Straddie" is the second largest sand island in the world, and the Island is famous for its scenic headlands, stretches of rolling surf, and white sandy beaches. We visited Brown Lake, which has Ti Tree oil stained waters. We walked the Gorge and saw some beautiful views, and heard the "blow" from Whale Rock (there is a certain spot between two rocks where the water shoots up and makes a "blow" sound just like from a whale's blowhole). We visited Point Lookout, and all the other popular spots, like Cylinder, Frenchman's/Deadman's and Main Beaches, the historical town of Dunwich, and the fishing village of Amity. We stopped at the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel, where the pub is said to quite possibly have the best view in Australia.

We were also able to spot some koalas and kangaroos in the wild one last time before heading back to America.

I even found a little kangaroo to ride! ;)

Unfortunately the weather was not on our side for this day tour – it was very cold, very windy, and it rained all day long. This is apparently very unusual as all the locals, and even the tour guide himself, were surprised. The weather made things a little less enjoyable, but it was still amazing to be exploring another part of Australia. I can only imagine how beautiful North Stradbroke Island is in its usual sunny weather.