Straddie

I am finding it hard to believe that I started this blog 15 month ago!  The time has flown by too quickly and I can say that I am a bit disappointed that I only posted twelve times.  My average is at best lackluster since my original plan was to post at least once a week. I can rattle off a multitude of excuses, many of them very legit, but instead I am moving the blog up on my priority list and my new goal is to triple my average. Not only do I enjoy sharing our Aussie adventures with you, my friends and family, but I also know we will come to look back at this and appreciate that events and moments are documented when details start to fade.

Now that I committed to blogging more, I am also going to have to say that I will be offline for the next week or two.  I will start my official blog ramp up when I reconnect.  Looking forward to it!

In September we took a day trip to North Stradbroke Island, or Straddie as its known here.  It is one of the largest sand islands in the world and a 25 minute ferry ride from the coast. We jumped on a morning ferry and once there took a bus to the Point Lookout, which is at the Northern tip of the island.  The island is virtually unspoiled with limited accommodations and a minimal number of shops and cafes. That leaves the beauty of the area as the showcase and it is showcased well.

We started our day with the North Gorge walk.

 

The walk is beautiful with typical walking trails and a boardwalk.

The views of the rugged coastline and the multiple shades of turquoise water are pretty spectacular.

 

 

Its also one of the best places for land based whale watching.  Being that it was still whale season, we were able to see some out in the distance.  There were also many pods of dolphins swimming past.

However, we loved the wild kangaroos most of all.  The little ones had no fear and hopped very closely past us.

However mama roo was a different story.  She was keeping an eye on us as we were now in between her and her little ones.  When she decided to join her family, she travelled way out of her way to get around us.



This is now one of my favorite kangaroo photos. (and I have hundreds of them)

After a very leisurely lunch (not really by choice, but when on an island like this everything moves at a much, MUCH slower pace), we took to the coast and walked from beach to beach.  The water was gorgeous and the girls enjoyed finding the marine life as the tide went out.

 

Hello Mr. Crab

We never actually got into the water past our knees during this trip, which disappointed the girls. The thought of travelling home via bus/ferry/car full of sand and salt just wasn't appealing. Even without the swim, it was a beautiful day trip that I would highly recommend.