"North Straddie Island in Jucy Sue!"

Sunday 6th November - Sunday 14th November 2010

Hi everyone!

We made it to Straddie Island (with minimal drama!) and we are on a campsite right on the beach. This place looks very chilled. There are no other backpackers here and we are definitely the only people rocking a Jucy Sue! (our huge, green camper van). It is very pretty and desolate. We will let you know about our time here in a few days!

Lots of love as always,

Elle and Joe x x x

p.s. we have no phone signal but don't worry, we are fine! Just on an Island in the middle of nowhere!

Hello again!!!

I eventually have the time to update the Straddie blog! Our first night in Jucy was fine. We stayed at the hostel in Brisbane and just paid $25 between us to use the facilities there but slept in the van on the driveway! We got lost in Brisbane when we tried to go out for a little explore and ended up going over the Storey Bridge into the city! Oh dear! We made it to the ferry port in Cleveland with no dramas though and sat in the campa and ate tuna pasta while waiting for the boat. True campas! Ha! Stradbroke reminds us immediately of Arran in Scotland, it has one road looping round the top of the island so we cannot get lost surely! We drove to our campsite in Point Lookout called Adder Rock. It sounds like a horror film...and it looks like one! It's very ghetto and basic and the locals who are camping here looks ferocious but it's quiet and there are no tourists here! (After speaking to a few locals they are actually quite nice, just big on fishing! And seem a bit backward but nice enough! J) Not even backpackers never mind a huge big Jucy truck! We are right on the beach and it reminds us of Fraser. Long, flat beaches with 4x4 trucks and lots of fishermen. The views are, yet again, amazing. It's the second largest sand island in the world (to Fraser) but without the 75 million tourists and time constraints. We walked on the beach at sunset with a Strongbow each and it was the best sunset we have seen yet, which is quite an achievement for a little island! When we woke up on Monday we couldn't breathe, there was no air. We were fighting to get out the van/oven. We drove into Point Lookout along the one road with beautiful sea views. We got a coffee and wandered around and stumbled across the most amazing view! It was like a mini "Indian Heads" (Fraser) but we were completely on our own, sitting having morning coffee. A little turtle popped its head up and said "good morning!" Then we drove to Cylinder beach (Joe likes going to beaches where there are lifeguards and red and yellow flags cos he is scared of sharks and jelly fish) (I got attacked once by a jellyfish and by jove it hurt. J). We cooked bacon out of the back of our campa in the car park. Its like a ghost town here during the week. Nothing is open and no one is here. But it's actually quite refreshing and chilled out being able to explore and relax without every other backpacker doing the same thing at the same time! We went to Main Beach and watched the very brave surfers (the waves were huge!) and found a private cove. We didn't swim in the cove as the water looked too scary! When we got back to our camp site there were two huge circus tents pitches next to Sue, we thought it might be a fishing convention or something but no, it was 30 12 year old school children! Ideal!

We woke up on Tuesday and, once again, couldn't breathe. And, we are so close to the beach that it sounds like the M1! (In a good way though! J) We drove to our usual 'morning coffee' spot at Point Lookout then did the South Gorge Walk. Its a really nice walk around a huge gorge. The sea is so turquoise its almost green, the surf is so violent and the views are amazing. We saw a stingray and are still desperate to see a shark! Apparently a 16ft great white was spotted off the island recently! We visited Brown lake but it was pretty rubbish and Joe saw a huge Huntsman in the toilets! So we went to the only golf course on the island played 9 holes. God knows why on an island of sand. It was like playing a whole round out of a bunker, not that it made much difference to me - I did so many air shots I nearly dislocated my shoulder! But Joe found the only bunker on the course and hit a tree! We didn't see one other human on the course, we only saw wild kangaroos! I was glad I had my golf club in case they tried to box me. I drove a golf buggy for the first time, it was a hoot! (the course was a little nine holer but was quite good! I rocked up in my boardies, vest and flip flops and asked the "pro" if there was a dress code, to which he replied, "I think your dressed about perfectly if you ask me champ!" what a legend. J) We went to Amity Point to watch the sunset over the ocean (for the first time in Oz!). When we got there, there was a family fishing off the pier and we sat down with our strongies on a rock. Then, the family all moved to the end of the pier because there were dolphins coming right up to it! We went down to look and the dad started hand-feeding the dolphins with the fishing bait! It was amazing! Apparently they follow the fishing trawlers in but the fisherman discourage you feeding them because they steal the fish off their lines! I was so excited to be so close to wild dolphins!

On Wednesday morning we were so tired of getting at the crack of dawn due to lack of air so we put the engine on and blasted the air con! We went to Point Lookout for our usual morning coffee and went to the fishing shop to buy pilchards to feed the dolphins! The man in the shop told me off and called them pests. Evil man. We went back that night at sunset and as soon as I waved the fish in the sea at the end of the pier, a mother and calf turned up and the mother took the fish right out of my hand! Yey! It was so good! I want to come here every night! I tried throwing a fish in after they left to get them to come back but it floated and a bird swept down and flew off with it! Little tinker!

On Thursday we walked to another couple of lakes (which were both rubbish too) and sorted out Sam and Hayley's campsite for them coming at the weekend. That night, the school kids did a talent show. Me and Joe sat outside drinking goon, mocking the children! It was so funny! They sang songs and did dances and comedy sketches! Two boys stood up and talked about cheese! God it was funny!

We picked S&H up on Saturday morning from Dunwich. S&J were so excited to see each other they started shouting "Stevo!" at each other between the pier and the ferry! We drove to the drive through liquor store and stocked up then took them to Point Lookout and the South Gorge. We went back to our beach and drank beers and played in the sea. Joe got stung by a bluebottle jellyfish and Sam laughed at him so much and called him gay until he stopped winging about it! (I swear it really hurt and was my first near death experience. J) We went to Amity again to feed the dolphins at sunset which S&H loved and had a bbq. We got red snapper, scallops, chicken and sausages for a right feast! (Elle obviously forgot to mention I cooked the bbq and did the snapper to absolute perfection. J) The fish monger who sold us the fish from a tiny shed had a friend in Berwick and had been to Cramlington! Ha! Then went back to catch the bus to the pub for the rugby. But we missed the bus and had to walk! Wounder! We tied to hitch but no one picked us up, probably a good thing with these inbred, weird locals! (They are nice!!! J) We drank quite a lot in the pub. It was wierd, it had an atmosphere that suggested that at any minute bar stools could be flying! (It was actually a class pub, loiads of big screens for the rugby and looked out over the sea! Had a good chat to a local who was sat behind us during the rugby who wasn't impressed by the Wallabies performance. J) There were loads of young girls being poached by middle aged men and S & J in this combo could have been an ugly one! Ha! But we left alive and got the free bus back to the campsite. We went onto the beach with the goon and the stars looked amazing. I don't think S&J noticed the stars as they were too concerned with drinking a whole box of goon! Me and H went to bed we could hear Joe shouting at Sam to stay awake! They were shouting obscenities at each other then dosing off - classic!

I woke up to a horrible mess (Joe) who had to take a knee twice on the way to the toilet in the morning because he nearly fainted. All S&J said all morning were things like, "my face feels like it's falling off", "I can't make any facial expression because it hurts", "my head feels like a foot", and "how much goon can you drink with one head". It amused me and H who felt fine! H found Joe's ipod in the sink and they had broken the back blind when trying to set the bed up drunk! We eventually went for breakfast and they became remotely human again. We all left Straddie on Sunday.

Me and Joe drove straight down to Burleigh Head to a campsite right on the beach. We absolutely loved Straddie! Feeding wild dolphins, the best sunsets yet and amazing views which could challenge those on Fraser! The best part was the lack of tourism.

Will let you know how we find the Gold Coast!

Lots of Love as always,

Elle and Joe x x x