Ace Rental Cars Blog

Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah is a must-see travel destination for anyone visiting Queensland. Known simply as Straddie to locals, the island offers a range of exciting adventures. If you’re travelling to Straddie from Brisbane CBD, drive your Ace rental car to the vehicle ferry terminal in Cleveland and travel across the bay with your car. Before you know it, you’ll be docking at Straddie in the township of Dunwich/Gumpi.

• Beaches
• Walking trails
• Places to eat
• Tranquil lakes

Beach Paradise

• Main Beach
• South Gorge

You can’t visit Straddie without discovering some of the amazing beaches on offer. Main Beach is a popular destination for a day on the sand for locals and tourists alike, with a designated carpark making it easy to park your rental car for the day and enjoy the sunshine. With 33 kilometres of white-washed sands, Main Beach is Straddie’s largest beach on offer. Perfect for swimming, surfing, camping, and fishing, at Main Beach you might also get the chance to catch a glimpse of the whales as they migrate through the ocean waves if you’re visiting from June to November. Whilst fun to swim in, it’s always important to navigate the water in only the patrolled area of the beach and to watch out for rips. If you’re after a quieter place to relax for the day, South Gorge is the beach for you. Much smaller than Main Beach, this slice of coastal paradise sits just nearby at Point Lookout. Protected by Northerly winds, this is a great spot to enjoy the pristine waters and white-washed sands that make up the small beach. Remember to take caution when swimming as the beach isn’t patrolled and is known for strong rips.

Relaxing Walks

• Gorge Walk
• Naree Budjong Djara National Park

Enjoy the views of the bush and sea on the island as it looks out onto the South Pacific Ocean with the Gorge Walk. An easy 1.2 kilometres, the Gorge Walk is a great way to experience the scenery around Straddie and is considered a must-do activity for anyone visiting the island. The walk takes you around the Point Lookout headland and is made up of gentle terrain, so you can keep your eyes up and, on the outlook, around you. Where the bush meets the sea, you may be able to spot some iconic Australian wildlife roaming the greenery, like kangaroos and wallabies, as well as marine life in the waters, like dolphins and whales. The Mount Vane walking track is also a great option if you’re looking to embrace nature on Straddie. The 2.2 kilometre track joins up with two other tracks in Naree Budjong Djara National Park (which means My Mother Earth to the island’s Traditional Owners, the Quandamooka people), giving you long stretches of trails and bush to explore.

Wine and Dine

• Straddie Brewing Co.
• Oasis Mexican Cantina

A staple of the Straddie Island food and drink scene is the locally famous Straddie Brewing Company. Using sand-filtered water from the island’s aquifer, the Straddie Brewery serves up a unique range of flavours and tastes in their locally made beer. Even if beer isn’t your thing, the sunset deck and large taproom make this Dunwich brewery the perfect hang-out place for everyone. Serving up a menu of locally sourced produce, as well as fresh Straddie seafood, Straddie Brewing Company is a great place for a drink and a bite on their sunset deck at golden hour. Nestled into the tip of Point Lookout is another restaurant to try when you’re on the hunt for a feed: Oasis Mexican Cantina. With a big and beautiful outdoor seating area to sit back in, Oasis serves up Mexican-inspired cocktails and meals, as well as delicious wood-fired pizza. Perfect for a meal or a drink on a balmy night, Oasis should be top of your list when dining out in Straddie.

Visit the Lakes

• Brown Lake Swimming Hole
• Blue Lake

A trip to Straddie isn’t complete until you’ve explored some of the incredible lakes the island is home to. Less than a twenty-minute drive from Dunwich, the Brown Lake Swimming Hole (Lake Bummiera) is a natural pool surrounded by bushland with picnic and barbeque facilities. Great for swimming in, the brown-tinged waters have been coloured by pure rainwater from the native tea trees in the area. Early morning or late afternoon is the ideal time to visit Brown Lake to experience its peaceful tranquillity. In the Naree Budjong Djara National Park sits another of Straddie’s beloved bodies of water, Blue Lake. A place of special cultural significance to Quandamooka people, who call the lake Karboora (meaning deep silent pool), this is the perfect place to experience some of the amazing native wildlife and bushland of Straddie.

Whether it’s swimming at the beach or visiting the lakes, walking along the coast, or having a beer at sunset, Stradbroke Island is the perfect destination for a relaxing getaway surrounded by nature.