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Surfing off Straddie © Angie Simms
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| North Stradbroke Island is the ideal place to sit back and watch the world go by, it exudes a peaceful “get away from it all” ambience and visitors always begin to relax as soon as they arrive. For those not content to while away the daylight hours on the beach or by the pool, there are a host of fun activities available for all tastes and budgets.
Straddie Online offers a weekend workshop painting holiday. Catering to groups of eight or more, these weekend escapes provide all transport, accommodation, tuition and meals to those wanting to learn to paint in nature or for the budding artist wanting a change of scene for inspiration. The natural beauty of the Island presents a spectacular array of landscapes for artists of all levels of experience.
The more of adventurous of you can enjoy life on the water with a variety of options available to you. Straddie Adventures offers fully supervised and guided sea kayak tours, while Mal Starkey shares his local fishing knowledge with you on a chartered fishing trip. There are also a number of SCUBA diving operations based on the Island – diving off Point Lookout is an amazing experience with great visibility and prolific sea life, so get out there and get wet!
Always wanted to learn how to surf? Call one of the listed instructors to get you up on your first wave in no time, there is usually a nice small break for beginners to get started on and the instructors provide the boards. Check out our list of 4WD tours on offer, these are a great way to see the Island on terra firma. Straddie Adventures also offers sand boarding on the coastal dunes for the more intrepid visitor; it is similar to snow boarding and is a lot of fun.
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Diving off Straddie © Angie Simms |
If you are seeking some local art for your collection, there are six galleries open to the public on the Island to choose from. Then again, maybe a game of golf is more your style so head out to Dunwich to the North Stradbroke Island Golf Club to tee off or to perfect your swing. For a relaxing way to end the day, join in Beach Yoga on Home Beach in the afternoons; watch out for the sign for class times on your way past.
Winter is a great time to visit North Stradbroke when a spectacle of nature arrives in the form of migrating Humpback whales! See the Whales section on this site for more information about these giant visitors and watch this space for winter whale watching tours.
What you can expect to catch
Trolling: Spanish mackeral, wahoo, tuna, bonito, marlin, sailfish, dolphin fish (mahi mahi), cobia and yellowtail kingfish.
Reef fishing: Snapper, sweetlip, jewfish, amberjack, pearl perch, parrot, trevally and cobia.
Beach fishing: Whiting, flathead, dart, tailor, bream and jew.
Bay fishing: Diver whiting, flathead, school mackeral, spotted mackeral, bream, sand crabs, mudcrabs, squid and parrot.
What you need to know
Boat ramps: Are located at Amity Point & the One Mile, Dunwich, next to the Little Ship Club
Note: Boats can be launched off Flinders Beach, but this is not an exercise for the inexperienced!
Beach permits: Permits are essential to drive on the beach or even to venture on to a designated 4WD access track or you can expect a fine of $375 as a result.
Permits are available from the following outlets:
- Cylinder Beach camping ground ranger
- Adder Rock camping ground ranger
Cost:
Beach permits must be displayed on your windscreen in a place clearly visible to the patrolling officers.
Beach driving: it is illegal to drive on any beach 1 hour either side of high tide on North Stradbroke Island! Fines will be issued to anyone found driving at these times.
North Stradbroke Island has a wide range of bait available.
Point Lookout:
- Foodworks – frozen pilchards, worms, squid, prawns, and fresh worms and mullet when in season.
- Point Lookout Store - frozen pilchards, worms, squid and prawns.
- Amity: Amity Point General Dealers – frozen pilchards, worms, squid and prawns.
- Dunwich: Dunwich Sports & Hobbies – wide range of lures and bait.
Yabbies can be readily pumped from the low tide sand flats at Amity and Dunwich.
Pippis (eugarie) can be collected on Main Beach at low tide.
But please note that only 50 eugaries are allowed per person – should you be caught with more than this a substantial fine and an unwanted court appearance will soon follow!
Swan Bay: Swan Bay is located at the southern tip of the island near Jumpinpin and is a protected fish sanctuary which is regularly monitored by the Department of Fisheries. This area is a complete no go zone and must be treated as such.
Tackle: Fishing tackle and lures can be bought from Foodworks and the Point Lookout Store at the Point, and in Amity from Amity Point General Dealers. In Dunwich, if you can’t find what you want at Dunwich Sports and Hobbies, then it is not on the island.
Point Lookout: Deduct one and a half hours from the tide time at the Brisbane bar (this is the time shown in the daily paper) for the correct high and low tide on main beach.
For example: 10.30am Low Tide at Bar = 9.00am at Main Beach
Amity Point: Deduct half an hour for the correct high and low tide times for Amity and Flinders Beach.
For example: 10.30am Low Tide at the Bar = 10.00am at Amity & Flinders Beach
Check our webcams for live beach conditions along Main Beach and at Home Beach, Flinders Beach, the South Passage Bar and offshore.
MAIN BEACH WEBCAM
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