Friday 14th February – Stradbroke Island

Morning

This part of the day was boring and is not relevant to the story, so has been intentionally left blank.

3pm

Bronwen and I left home at 3:11 PM and rushed towards the Stradbroke Island ferry at Cleveland, where we were supposed to meet Bronwen’s parents’ on the 4 o’clock ferry and catch it to Stradbroke Island with them. However, as we were later than anticipated, peak hour traffic and school pick-ups started to kick in, getting worse the further we drove. We only just made it to the ferry on time—Bronwen’s parents had pulled out of the queue of cars driving onto the ferry and were waiting for us and we literally had to park and run from the car to Bronwen’s parents car, getting there just as the last of the other cars pulled onto the ferry.

The Shed

Once we got to “The Shed”, Bronwen’s parents discovered that they’d forgot to bring over the keys for “The Trailer”—Bronwen’s parents’ campervan. This was a bit of a problem because Bronwen and I had planned to sleep in it—but also because it had been parked on the island for a while and there’d been quite a lot of heavy rain not that long ago, so Bronwen’s parents were keen to open it up and make sure it was dry inside. We decided that the best thing to do was for me to catch the ferry back to the mainland and drive to Bronwen’s parents’ place to get the keys, spend the night at home, and head back to Stradbroke Island in the morning.

Plans made, Bronwen and I went for a wander along the beach (which was busier than I’d expected—the recent cyclone had caused larger than usual waves, and there were a lot of surfers, and photographers taking photos of surfers) before Bronwen’s Dad drove me back to the ferry. I caught the ferry back to the mainland, drove to Bronwen’s parents’ place to get the keys, and then drove home, where I foolishly stayed up late.

Sunset over Cylinder BeachSunset over Cylinder Beach

Saturday 15th February – Stradbroke Island

Morning

I left home at 6:20 AM, having had very little sleep, and drove to Cleveland where I caught the 7 AM Gold Cat across to Stradbroke Island. From there I caught the bus to Point Lookout, arriving back at “The Shed” by 8:30—with the all-important keys!

A frog had got into “The Shed” at night and caused a ruckus, so we dropped that off at a nice frog-looking spot, and went for a wander around the beaches, most of which were closed due to the dangerous conditions.

Evening

We went for a swim at Cylinder Beach despite a stinger warning—and of course, I got stung.

Bronwen with the frog“The Shed”Cylinder BeachBronwen walking along the beachBronwen walking along the beachBronwen walking along the beachFrenchman’s BeachFrenchman’s BeachBronwen at Frenchman’s BeachJellyfish stings on Ned’s leg

Sunday 16th February – Brown Lake

Brown Lake

We all got up very early to go to The Keyholes (a series of lakes on Stradbroke Island) and drove—via Fever on Straddie for coffee—to the locked gate which had a sign on it saying it would be locked until yesterday. This was something of an anti-climax, but instead of giving up, Bronwen’s Dad drove us to Brown Lake instead.

There were very few people there when we got there, and we all went for a swim. I found many mushrooms—all within thirty metres of where we parked—and flew Wallace higher than he’s ever been before (224 metres)

Fever on Straddie’s cockatooDanger: Entry ProhibitedRoad ClosedBrown LakeBrown LakeBrown LakeBronwen & John canoeing at Brown LakeBrown LakeBronwen canoeing at Brown LakeBronwen canoeing at Brown LakeBronwen canoeing at Brown LakeBrown LakeBronwen & Sarah canoeing at Brown LakeA tree at Brown LakeBrown Lake from the airBrown LakeBrown LakeBrown LakeBronwen & Ned at Brown LakeBronwen & Ned at Brown Lake

Mushrooms

Funguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke IslandFunguses at Brown Lake, Stradbroke Island

Home

In the afternoon Bronwen and I wandered along the beaches and went for a walk along the North Gorge Walk, before Bronwen’s parents dropped us off at the ferry and we caught the Stradbroke Flyer Gold Cat back to the mainland.

We drove home, via Coles and Woolworths at Cleveland, and got home, quite exhausted, just on 6:30 PM.

North GorgeThe Beach on Stradbroke IslandBronwen on the beach at Stradbroke IslandA red balloon on Stradbroke IslandBronwen & her red balloon on Stradbroke IslandCylinder Beach, Stradbroke Island