Welcome to my story style travel blog, featuring my time spent in Brisbane, Australia in the spring of 2025. Normally, I do group tours when I travel but I have an opportunity to use a flight pass from my friend who works as a flight attendant. I first visited Australia in 2009 when I was touring New Zealand and decided to fly over to Sydney for a week. I figured it’s been awhile, and Brisbane is a route my friend usually flies… so we plan to meet up there! I also have many friends who live in and around Brisbane, a result of all of my travels over the years. So here we go!!!
Another early start this morning as I meet my new group for the day at the pickup point downtown. Today we are headed to North Stradbroke Island, also known as Straddie. One thing you’ll learn about Aussies, they have nicknames for everything! Straddie is the second largest sand island in the world. Do you know what the largest is??Answer at the end of this blog!
In the van , I sit in an empty seat next to a guy named Bassel, a retired airline pilot from Florida. He’s cool; we become fast buddies. Our guide today is Rob, and we buckle in as he drives us over to the ferry port.
We decide it’ll be fun to sit on the top deck of the ferry for the 25 minute ride over to the island….but it’s soooo windy!! Not the most enjoyable experience. Haha
Once we make it to the other side, we hop in our island van and we’re off to explore! Our first stop is called Brown lake, and well, it’s brown.
But nothing gross…it gets its coloring from the many tea trees that grow in the water. Rob grabs a few leaves for us to smell.
After this, we get to one of the most popular things to do on the island – the Gorge walk. The views here are just stunning – overlooking the beaches, the rock walls…amazing!
This part of rock formation looks like a woman’s face, and nearby is a rock that wails as the water and wind go through it
As we go along, we see a few Eastern Gray Kangaroos, munching on some snacks close by.
The way this walk is going so far…lots of steps up and down as we make our way around.
And it is soooo windy here too – my hair is an absolute mess. Haha.
When we finish the walk, it’s time for lunch but we are running a bit behind due to a rain delay. We stop in the town of Point Lookout and there are a few places to eat, but we can’t pass up the recommendation of the Prawn Shack.
They sell fresh seafood and there is only one thing prepared on the menu…the prawn avocado sandwich.
We find a picnic bench close to the water, and devour these to die for sandwiches. Japhet joins me and Bassel; he’s from the Philippines and a super sweet guy.
For dessert, I hit Whale Tail for a dragonfruit lychee sorbet gelato. Yum!
Kimse manages to snap a pic of this kangaroo and baby!!
Our next stop is Clylinder beach, where we have some time for a swim. I opt to go in as far as I can in my clothes – I can’t be bothered changing and getting sandy etc.
We have some time to hang out before getting back in the van, so I get to know Kimse, who is from Cambodia, which is so cool since I was just there last year.
The last stop today is an area where Rob thinks we may be able to see some marine life…but first we spot another koala!
I’ve been so lucky to see a few active koalas in the wild over the last few days. It starts to pour rain, and we find a brief shelter to wait it out before trudging back to the van. No marine life today unfortunately.
All that’s left of the day is to head back to the ferry and sail over to the mainland. This time we sit inside. Haha.
I say goodbye to the guys, and make my way over to Fortitude Valley and the Brunswick Street Mall. There are lot of fun bars and restaurants here. I find a place to eat, and I sit there looking at the menu, and servers keep walking by me and ignoring me so I decide I’m not feeling the vibe(I think I was supposed to go up to the bar to order?). I’ll never know, because I leave and find a place that’s less formal. It’s called Oporto, and they offer flame grilled chicken as the specialty. I have the chicken bites, and they’re not very good. Oh well…..
I finish my night at Blute’s bar, which is all karaoke, all night. My kind of place! It’s still early so it’s not that busy; I order a beer and settle in.
The setup is kind of weird….there is a machine on the wall, almost like a juke box and I can enter my song here. There is no KJ, so it just goes on a rotation. A good trick I learn is to watch who puts in a song before you so you know when it’s your turn to sing. Because when your name comes up, you’ve got less than 10 seconds to get on stage and grab the mic. I’m able to sing a couple of songs, so I’m happy with that.
I end up walking all the way back to the hotel, which takes around 45 mintues but I stop at Woolworth’s and grab a bunch of groceries which makes for a heavy walk back. Another amazing day in Australia!
Answer -Largest sand island in the world – K’Gari Island, which also happens to be off the east coast of Australia!
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 
What an incredible day! Loved following along on your Straddie adventure—between the kangaroos, the windswept walks, and that prawn avocado sandwich (yes, please!), it all sounds so vibrant and real. Karaoke at Blute’s was the perfect ending! Thanks for sharing the highs, the laughs, and the little surprises too.
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