| North
Stradbroke Island |
| North
Stradbroke Island is, at 40km long, the
largest and most established of Moreton Bay’s islands, with sealed roads
and the fully serviced townships of Dunwich, Amity and Point Lookout.
Ninety percent of “Straddie” is given over to mining rutile
(titanium oxide), and the majority of the 3200 residents are employees of
Consolidated Rutile Ltd. The mine sites south of Amity, and in the central
west and south, are far from exhausted but their future is precarious,
thanks to an oversupply on the world market. Other industries focus on
timber, a by-product of preparing land for mining, and, increasingly,
tourism. |
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| Transport
to the island leaves from Toondah Harbour at Cleveland, with
Stradbroke Ferries (tel 07/3286 2666) crossing to Dunwich eleven ten times
daily (return fares $10 per person by water-taxi; $69 per car by barge);
bus connection from Brisbane’s Transit Centre to the ferry costs $8
return. Also, watch out for good-value package deals from various sources,
such as the free courtesy bus (not including ferry fare) from
Brisbane run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Stradbroke Island
Guesthouse – call them first to book.
Some roads on Stradbroke are open to mining
vehicles only, so drivers should look out for the signs. Off-roading
through the centre is ill-advised: quite apart from the damage caused to
the dune systems, the sand is very soft and having your vehicle pulled out
can be very expensive.
Dunwich to Main Beach |
| Unless
you need to fuel up or visit the bank, there’s little to keep you at DUNWICH,
Straddie’s ferry port. Two sealed roads head out of town, east through
the island’s centre towards Main Beach, or north to Amity and
Point Lookout. The road through the centre passes two lakes, the
second and smaller of which, Blue Lake, is a national park and source of
fresh water for the island’s wildlife, which is most plentiful early in
the morning. Beyond Blue Lake you have to cross the Eighteen Mile Swamp
to reach Main Beach and, though there’s a causeway, the rest of the
route is for 4WDs only. You can camp behind the beach anywhere
south of the causeway (north of it is mining company land), but be
prepared for the mosquitoes that swarm around the mangroves; the
southernmost point, looking over to South Stradbroke Island, is an angling
and wildlife mecca, with birdlife and kangaroos lounging around on the
beaches.
Amity and Point Lookout |
| Heading
north from Dunwich, it’s 10km to where the road forks left to Amity and
right to Point Lookout: AMITY is a sleepy place built around a
jetty, while POINT LOOKOUT is where most visitors end up if they
don’t want to camp. Nineteen kilometres from Dunwich, Point Lookout
spreads out around Stradbroke’s single rock headland, overlooking a
string of beaches. Stretched out along the road are a pub, takeaway pizza
place, a store, some cafés and various types of accommodation. Top
of the range are Anchorage Village Resort, a comfortable,
motel-like option, and The Islander, with motel rooms and
two-bedroom units. At the other end of the scale, Stradbroke Island
Guesthouse and the smaller Straddie Hostel both have dorm
beds, plus free loans of surfboards, bikes and fishing gear; they also
organize 4WD-, walking-and trail-riding trips. Stradbroke Tourist Park
is the best of the local caravan parks, or you can camp on the
foreshore west of Rocky Point’s beach access road.
The beaches here are good. Flinders
runs west of Amity; Home and Cylinder between here and
Cylinder Headland are both patrolled and, therefore, crowded during
holiday weekends. If you don’t mind swimming in unwatched waters, head
for Deadman’s Beach or Frenchman’s Bay. On the headland
above, there are fine views and the chance to see loggerhead turtles and
dolphins; from the walking track around North Gorge down to Main Beach you
might see whales – if you have binoculars. Offshore, Stradbroke’s dive
sites around Flat and Shag rocks are renowned for groups of grey nurse
sharks, moray eels and butterfly cod. Stradbroke Island Scuba Centre (tel
07/3409 8715, fax 3409 8588) discount their five-day dive course through
the hostels.
Maps |
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