Stradbroke Island – Brisbane’s best kept secret

I have been going to Stradbroke Island (off the coast of Brisbane) since I was a child. Even now, it’s still my most favourite place in the WORLD to visit!! This is why I believe it is Brisbane’s best kept secret!

As not many people that travel to Brisbane, QLD, Australia ever hear about the island, I would like to share my favourite parts with you. Here are some pics I took and some words mixed in about the island.

The island showcases everything Australia has to offer. Ranging from wildlife, fresh seafood, great fishing and some of the best surf beaches out there. If you go camping it’s a super cheap getaway too. Don’t worry if camping isn’t your style, there are plenty of other accommodation options as well. The best thing is it’s only a ferry ride away!

Here is a little history about Stradbroke Island

North Stradbroke’s traditional land name is Minjerribah and occupation here dates back to at least 21,000 years ago! (Take that religion) The Quandamooka people (who are the traditional owners of the land) have lived around this area for tens of thousands of years. The past 180 years have seen various European settlements occupy the land. Some of the uses included convict outstations, military depots, Catholic mission, quarantine station and asylum.

Here is the ref Link if you would like to read up on some more info on the history of the island. http://stradbrokeisland.com/island-history

In 1964, the first drive-on/drive-off barge from Cleveland to Dunwich commenced. This made the island easily accessible from Brisbane, people flocked to see and enjoy the beauty of Stradbroke Island.

Stradbroke Island Barge that leaves from Cleveland, Brisbane

You can book the Stradbroke Ferries on their website
Price range from $70 – $80 each way per car on the ferry and they leave from Cleveland every hour. Walk on fares are available as well.

Accommodation on the island is plentiful- you can choose from campgrounds (some even have glamping options), as well as cabins. Backpackers, holiday homes and resorts.

Now my favourite spot to camp is at Adder Rock

Adder Rock, Stradbroke Island, Brisbane

Your camp is about 100m distance to a beautiful beach and great waves to learn how to surf on! Camping there is about $14 per person per night.

But if camping isn’t your thing.. maybe Stradbroke Island glamping is?

Also not far from the camp grounds is the Straddie pub, bottle O and Stradbroke Island beach hotel. This place has a great view!

And right in between the pub and the camp grounds is Straddie’s best skate park.

The Island has three skate parks all up

The first one you see when you get off the ferry at Dunwich, and the other one is located at the caravan park at Amity Point

Check out this edit from a couple years back when we did some skate demos for the local kids. Was a lot of fun 🙂

Apart from surfing, skating, swimming, fishing etc, you can also go sandboarding.

It is so much fun but remember to bring water and lots of sunscreen as you will be running up the hill and the sun reflects off the sand alot.

Food

Now for the best seafood on the island make sure you go and see the guys at Rufus King Seafoods, Sovereign Road, Amity Point.

Check out their website for more info

They have the biggest prawns I have ever seen! We renamed them the megaloprawn ha ha.

North Gorge walk

At Point Lookout they have built a great board walk around the point named – North Gorge walk. The walk is about 1.2 km and takes about 45 min to complete. It is well worth the walk if only for the beautiful scenery.

Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island, Brisbane

Also lots of wildlife like dolphins, manta rays, sea turtles frequent the area. In whale migration season you will more than likely see them frolicking in the water too! If you’d like to see the whales in action off of Point Lookout, check out our Stradbroke Island whale watching blog.

And for a more up close, water-based whale encounter, check out our Whale watching Brisbane blog.

Turtles in the water of Stradbroke Island Brisbane
Turtles
Sea Hawks
Kangaroos chillin under trees and more….

Speaking of kangaroos check out these two young guys boxing on on the side of the road at Point Lookout haha

Another great spot to check out is Brown Lake

Brown Lake is pure rain water which has turned brown from the tea trees. It is an awesome place to just chill under a tree on the white sands, or have a float in the water. Brown Lake is also home to some goannas.

Goanna up a tree on Stradbroke Island Brisbane

We were even lucky enough to see a koala on the island 😀

So if you are ever in Brisbane and looking for that perfect getaway I can’t suggest Stradbroke Island enough! I hope that one day you will be able to visit this amazing island. I also hope you can now see why I think Stradbroke Island is Brisbane’s best kept secret!

Stradbroke island beach just off the coast of Brisbane

The perfect spot for some beach side beers! Cheers