Time travelling to a few days ago when I was living the good life on North Stradbroke Island

(I'm back in Auckland where the Internet is fast and free (yay!) so I can finally post what I'd written some 4 days ago.)

Ahhhhhhh…North Stradbroke. 

A bit of geography: North Straddie (as the locals call it) is the second of two large sand islands that lie just east of Brisbane.  It’s fairly easy and cheap, if not quick, to get here via public transport.  From downtown Brisbane you have to take a subway train for an hour ($6.40), then grab a bus from the train station to the ferry terminal (free with subway ticket), then take the ferry for half an hour ($17 return), then another bus from the wharf to the hostel ($4.50).

It’s less touristy than its neighbour, Moreton (where I was last week), but still attracts a fair bit of visitors, especially during the school holidays (which, unfortunately, includes this week).  It reminds me of Balm Beach in Georgian Bay – lots of cottagers and daytrippers who come over from the nearby big city on weekends and holidays, but not so much that it’s become tacky (like Wasaga).

And for good reason.  North Stradbroke is AWESOME. 

I warn you now, my pictures really don't do this place justice. 

I’m almost reluctant to talk about it too much cause I would hate for the “secret” to come out and ruin this little slice of paradise.

But you can keep a secret, right?

I was here last year for only a night or two.  Despite the short stay, it was a highlight of my three-month trip. I’m delighted I’ve been able to come back so soon, and I’m absolutely thrilled that it’s just as amazing as I remember.

Frenchman's beach

The water here is beautiful – impossibly turquoise, as clear as can be, and only steps away from where I’m staying.

(I'd made a snazzy little video showing just how close it was.  I walked from the hostel to the beach in under two  minutes.  Unfortunately, loading the video was taking more than 15X the time it took to make it.  And, though I'm not a busy girl, I do have things to do,so, no video for you. Sorry.)

The beaches are plentiful – most of the dwellings are on one section of the island called “Lookout Point” (why is it called that, you might ask. Well, more on that later).  In that one area there must be 3 km of clean, sandy beach front.  And even with the holiday in full swing, the beaches are anything but crowded.  Of course, there’s a greater concentration of people gathered around the lifeguarded areas (the waves are pretty strong), but if you’re just looking to sit in the sand with a good book, chances are you’ll be doing it in near solitude.

Cylinder beach

So what have my days been like? 

Slothful.

Sinfully slothful, in fact.  Decadently, deliciously, blissfully so.

And as I approach my second month anniversary of unemployment, I can hardly say I’ve earned it…but I won’t lie; it’s fantastic.

At about 6:30 or 7:00 I’m roused from my slumber by the less-than-dulcet tones of a gaggle of excited scuba divers who are preparing for the morning’s dive just below my window.  It’s a bit annoying, mainly because I’d love to be joining them, but given that I’m still ever-so-slightly congested, it could result in a painful – if not damaging – experience for my ears.  Oh well.  There’ll be other opportunities I’m sure.

 The “early” morning wakeup calls are rather nice though, since I’ve been able to participate in the morning yoga classes offered up the beach.  By 7:40 I set out for my 20-minute walk to the yoga site.  After an hour of yoga, I stroll back to the hostel where I make myself a big breakfast, then throw on my bathing suit, pack a bag with some essentials (sunscreen, sunglasses, water bottle, snack, blanket), slap on my big unfashionable hat and either head on out to the beach just outside the door to make camp, or make my way into “town.”

Bustling this is not

I use the term lightly since the downtown of Point Lookout is really just a tiny conglomeration of businesses – a bakery, a coffee shop, a pizza place, two stores selling beachwear and touristy knickknacks and a restaurant or two. It’s hardly a bustling metropolis.  What compels me to walk 45 minutes to get there is the lookout itself.  As the name states, the area just in front of the shops is an excellent lookout point.  A cliff jutting into the sea is the perfect vantage point to spot pods of dolphins, rays, turtles, and during this time of the year, whales. 

In the space of an hour on Tuesday, I managed to see them all.  Squee! (For the uninitiated, that’s the sound of childlike glee).



Dolphins!



and turtles!

and whales, oh my!



At the beach I alternate reading on the sand and tackling the waves. I don’t go out very far, since the waves are pretty strong, and though I’m a strong swimmer, I’m not used to the ocean, so I’m a bit of a coward – especially when there’s the possibility of becoming intimately acquainted with either a riptide or a shark. I did do a bit of boogie boarding (very close to shore) though, which was fun. 



Once the sun sets or clouds roll in, I usually do a bit of writing – for this blog, obviously, but also for a project I’m hoping to develop.  I also admit to vegging out in front of the TV.  Let’s pretend that it’s to study the pop culture of this country (Junior Masterchef?  Too fun).

I’m back to Auckland and meeting up with some friends from home on Saturday.  They’ll be in NZ for a few weeks doing the tourist circuit, and I’m going to tag along for at least a while.  Though I’m not entirely thrilled to return to temperatures in the mid-teens, it’ll be nice to see some familiar faces.

There was no natural place to put this last photo, so I'll leave you with it.




 



Posing awkwardly at the sublime North Gorge