Stradbroke Island – The Real Surf Paradise

Arriving back home (Nobby Beach) I had a warning from the old man that there was tsunami alert for the east coast of Australia, following the huge earthquake in Chile. That evening we decided it would be best for us not to sleep yards from the beach but drive a few k’s inland. The following morning we heard that there had been no tsunami so we decided we would go catch the remnants for a big surf – arriving at the beach we found the whole stretch of beach on the Gold Coast to be closed.

The following days at the Gold Coast were spent working and we discovered some new free wifi spots;

Broadbeach Public Libarary; slow but free internet and good working conditions.

Broadbeach Oasis Shopping Centre (‘DLINK’ network on floor 1, sofa outside Marcus Edward salon) – free and lightning fast, but you can only use between 5pm and 12am or you’ll be asked to leave.

Nerang McDonald’s – free, average speed (Also has a brilliant Van sleeping spot under a large tree)

Rick (Uncle Rico), our Broadbeach Van mate recommended that a visit to Stradbroke Island was a MUST before we left Australia.  And so we scheduled it into our busy diary between surfing and work.  Pre Stradbroke we thought we’d squeeze in a quick visit to my Irish, Laos Tubing mates I met back in September; Amy, Annette, Lisa and Aoife.  We had a typically blurry crazy intoxicated Irish night out in Brisbane.  Having not really stepped foot in any social public domains for a while we got to test out our beards, they seemed to go down well.

Stradbroke Island is a surfers haven – many pros reside in Strattie beacause of the big and consistent surf, without the crowds.  You have to take the ferry from Cleveland to get to the Island, if you travel Mon – Thurs you can get the special deal of $100/vehicle.

We were blown away by how beautiful Stradbroke was from the moment we arrived.  We drove straight to main beach, the most popular surf beach.  The surf was huge, around 8ft.  We got pounded for a good few hours out there!  There was a strong sweep and so we had drifted about 2km down the beach in this time.  From knowhere a lady appeared on the shore-line – baring in mind the beach was completely empty and we were in the middle of knowhere.  She looked very distressed and was flapping her arms in a panic pointing further down the beach, screaming for me to come in.  I thought that was it, game over, my life flashed before my eyes.  I thought without a doubt there was a shark and probably a great white – the island is highly populated with sharks.  I paddled for my life, luckily I caught a wave which brought me all the way to where she was.  There was no shark – she proceeded to tell me her family’s 4×4, another few k’s down the beach was stuck in the sand and the tide was coming in fast.  My hero instincts came into play and so I ran for the lifeguard, probably the fastest mile I’ve ever ran.

Struggling with the big surf at main beach we were tipped that Cylinder Beach was slightly tamer.  A nice right hand point break.  We made camp for the night at Cylinder, absolutely exhausted we were in bed by 19.00.

The next morning we were not only lucky enough to share the great surf with some hot chicks but also a pod of dolphins – doesn’t get much better.

Stradbroke Island; amazing weather, beautiful beaches, awesome surf, relaxed Island atmosphere – pretty close to paradise, definately the highlight of our Australia trip so far.

(When there are no sharks – Daily Mail Story)