North Stradbroke Island︱The Wonderland of Brisbane
When
you discuss about Brisbane with your friends, “Gold Coast” and “Sunshine Coast”
may be a part of your conversations. However, there are still many amazing
beaches, coasts, or even islands near Brisbane. North Stradbroke Island, also known as Straddie, locates at 30 km
southeast of Brisbane, Queensland and it is the second largest sand island in
the world. The island is about 38 km long and 11 km wide. Access is by ferry
from Cleveland, Brisbane across Moreton Bay.
There are three main townships in North Stradbroke Island,
including Dunwich, Amity Point and Point Lookout with approximately 2500 permanent
population. The island’s unique, timeless beauty is appreciated by all who live
there and visit the island. It is also an ideal holiday destination for
families, groups of friends and day trippers, the island is famous for its
scenic headlands, rolling surf and endless white sandy beaches.
Next,
I am going to share some interesting stories and my travel experience in this
island with my friends from China, Hong Kong, and Japan!
The
red frame shows the location of North Stradbroke Island, the destination of the
trip this time.
◎How
can I arrive North Stradbroke Island?
You
can take train to “Cleveland” station first and then transfer Bus 258
to the Cleveland Port which supplies ferries to North Stradbroke Island (The
name of bus stop: Emmett Drive at Toondah Harbour Ferry). Next, I am going to
explain how can you” go to the island from Cleveland Port” and the “public
transport in Straddie”.
The
bus stop of Cleveland train station is just near the exit and you may only walk
around 1 min to see it.
Cleveland
Port
First,
there are two types of ferry tickets to North Stradbroke Island, including “Water Taxi”
and “Vehicle
Ferry”. The point that you should notice is that “Go Card” is unacceptable, you can only use “credit cards” or “cash”
to buy ferry tickets at the port office. Moreover, you can only buy “return ticket” but not “one-way ticket”. The price and relevant
details are attached below:
The
price means the” two-way (return) ticket” but not “one-way ticket”
In
brief, “Water
Taxi” is convenient, saves time (only 25 min to island), and
cooperates with public transport systems in North Stradbroke Island, and
supplies the concession price for students, senior people and so on. This
ticket is suitable for backpackers or tourists who need to take island buses
and don’t want to waste too much time.
On
the other hand, “Vehicle Ferry” doesn’t have advantages mentioned above. The
only advantage is cheaper. However,
if you need to drive your own cars to the island, you have to buy this ticket.
In conclusion, if you don’t have to travel there with your vehicles, the “Water Taxi” ticket is what I will
recommend to tourists.
Second,
the public transport in the island is only bus and the tickets can also not be paid by go card (cash only!) because it doesn’t belong
TransLink company. However, you can only buy “one-way ticket” when you take
island buses. The price detail is demonstrated in the photo above.
After
you understand the difference between these public transports and the price,
another thing that you may want to know is the timetable of ferry and island
bus. This photo shows the details about it:
This
is the timetable of ferry and “Dunwich” is the name of North Stradbroke Island’s
port. Bus marks mean that you can take island buses directly after you get off
the ferry (Water Taxi).
This
is the timetable of island buses, “Dunwich”, “Amity Point”, and “Point Lookout”
are three main tourism areas in North Stradbroke
Island.
※Note 1: If you
want to enter the island with your personal vehicles, the delivery fee is
necessary and it is listed here: click here to understand more.
※Note 2: If you
lose your ferry tickets, you can still buy tickets on the ferries or buses.
Because
the bus tickets can only be paid by cash and there are many tourists in this
island (especially in summer). I personal recommend you can arrive bus stops as
early as possible.
After
understanding the transport methods, I am going to introduce three main tourism
areas, including “Dunwich”, “Amity Point”, and “Point Lookout”.
Let’s enjoy the island trip!
Although
North Stradbroke Island is just an “island”, it is still pretty large and most
areas are undeveloped natural environments. The map can be downloaded here: Click it.
◎Dunwich
This
is the township with Dunwich Port, so you will absolutely arrive to this area
when you travel to this island. However, although there are some restaurants or
hotels here, it is also the smallest township of the island. Moreover, it may
be not really popular for travellers because most of tourists come here for
exploring more attractions or spots inland. Therefore, I also recommend every
tourist can travel in “Amity Point”, and “Point Lookout” first.
♁Address：North
Stradbroke Island, Dunwich, Queensland
♁Phone：07-3821 0266
or 1300 303 766
♁Ticket：Free
♁Public Toilet：Yes（Bradbury Beach & Adams Beach）
♁Bathroom：Yes（Bradbury Beach & Adams Beach）
♁Car Park：approximate 50 parking spaces
The waiting space of Dunwich Port
The bus stop of Dunwich just locates near the exit of
the port
◎Point Lookout
It is the most famous and popular area in this island
where you can enjoy amazing views and natural environments, beautiful beaches, water
activities such as snorkeling, diving, canoeing, and delicious food at special
restaurants. Sometimes you can also meet wild kangaroos jumping on the streets
surprisingly!
♁Address：North
Stradbroke Island, Point Lookout, Queensland
♁Phone：07-3821
0266 or 1300 303 766
♁Ticket：Free
♁Public
Toilet：Yes
♁Bathroom：Yes
♁Car Park：approximate 100 parking spaces
The
bus termination of North Stradbroke Island locates in Point Lookout
There
is a small park near the Point Lookout bus termination where you can sometimes
meet kangaroos.
“Point Lookout Beach Resort” was
the hotel that we chose this time. The surroundings including public swimming
pool, facilities such as cookers or fridge, and boss are all pretty awesome!
The most important point is that the price is cheap!! Thanks for the wonderful rooms for us!
This
is my favourite spot of North Stradbroke Island, South Gorge. You can easily find
this classic attraction from various travel magazines or books. Besides the
excellent water quality and beach, you can also enjoy the amazing landform
surrounding here. Please make sure you don’t have other schedules after
visiting here because you will not want to leave.
We
unexpectedly met a marriage held at this place which was just like movie scenes
The
longest beach of Straddie, Main Beach, locates near South Gorge. Compare
with Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast, it is more natural and not packed for you to
release whole pressures!
Next,
we went to “The
North Gorge Walk” next to South Gorge. Although it sounds like a
tough hiking path, the total length is just 1 km and everyone can walk on this
path to see the magnificent views and ocean easily.
When
you walk on the route of The North Gorge Walk, you can see “North Gorge
Point Lookout”, the super famous landmark of North Stradbroke Island
where you can also enjoy the spectacular view of our amazing earth.
I
travelled with friends from China, Hong Kong, and Japan this time, but I am
wondering if you can really recognize that where are we from by this picture?
haha
In
summary, “Main Beach”, “South Gorge”, “The North Gorge Walk”, and “North
Gorge Point Lookout” are all amazing and excellent attractions that I will
recommend to you!
◎Amity
Point
This
is the second large tourism area of Straddie where you can go camping, fishing
and see wild koalas and dolphins. Therefore, it supplies different spaces for
tourists who have different hobbies. Moreover, Australian family prefer to
visit this area rather than others because it is more convenient and safer for
kids playing here.
♁Address：North
Stradbroke Island, Amity Point, Queensland
♁Phone：07-3821 0266
or 1300 303 766
♁Ticket：Free
♁Public Toilet：Yes
♁Bathroom：Yes
♁Car Park：approximate 50 parking spaces
Amity Point’s beach is not as large as other beaches of
North Stradbroke Island. However, the water quality is still great and the sea
condition is safer and more stable for kids to enjoy it.
Access closed, but…
I just don’t care?! Haha
Because Amity Point faces the western direction,
tourists can see the sunset in this area as well.
We were so lucky to see two dolphins swimming under
the bridge.
Finally, we just enjoyed our last time with these kids
and finished our two-day trip. North Stradbroke Island is a really comfortable
island for tourists to explore and relax. If I have free time, I would still
choose this island for traveling in the future! Thanks for the wonderful travel
memory here!
Want to know other attractions of Brisbane?
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