Stradbroke Island

This weekend took us out to Stradbroke Island just an hour off of the coast of Brisbane. We went out with friends to stay the weekend and explore. The only way to get our car there was by ferry. We stayed at a place called Amity Bungalows (or "dumbalows", as Evan would call them.) This was a resort located at the northern tip of Stradbroke Island right where the Coral Sea meets the South Pacific Ocean. It was a quiet and tranquil location that really made you feel like you were camping in the heart of the rainforest. Our bungalow was called "Possum Lodge". We also had our own private jetty, pool, and kids playground. We were told that wild dolphins would come to our jetty every night after dark to feed. We stood out on the jetty for quite awhile and the dolphins kept going back-and-forth between the jetty's around us but never got right underneath us. It was still very interesting to watch. There were also friendly kookaburras that would perch on the deck of our cabin (and would wake us with their cackling/laughing every morning.) We caught Evan on several occasions going out and having conversations with the kookaburras.

We spent some of the weekend hiking and 4-wheel driving on the island. Our friends brought their 4-wheel drive vehicle so we all piled in and drove several of the beautiful beaches on the island. This is a very unique and fun experience, but kind of just felt like driving on snow, without the cold, in America. We also went "back-roadin'" on the island to see the sights.

Our first hike took us along the whale watching path. There were several platforms along this one mile track where you could sit and watch the ocean for the whales migrating north. Unfortunately we were never able to locate one because the waters were too choppy but the locals did tell us that there were whales in the area (whale watching season is June-November.) We also took a hike on the Gorge path. This was a beautiful walk along the rocky coast of Stradbroke.