Hi everyone! We enjoyed a long Easter Weekend on North Stradbroke Island this year. Here's a link for basic info for those inclined. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/queensland/north-stradbroke-island
We left on Friday afternoon on the ferry from Cleveland and enjoyed the crossing. Daddy treated to toasted cheese sandwiches (cheese toasties in aussie) on the ferry and we enjoyed the views from the upper deck loungs. It was nice to have the morning to finish packing up and relaxing! We felt and looked like the Beverly Hillbillies until we got there-lots of people packed to the gills in their 4WD vehicles and utility trucks. For those not in Australia, a utility vehicle aka Ute, can be many things. A small pick up truck, a Ford Falcon (half car half truck. Think Ranchero), or a truck with flat bed with rim around. These were all piled on with coolers (Eskies) tents, tarps, bikes, sand chairs-you get the picture. For those planning on a long stay, they brought the campers or trailers also piled high. Serious fun to be had by everyone!
We got to the house we rented for the weekend. Again, nothing really special, but it was a quick drive to the beach. It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath place that was the basement of a nice house. The owners live above and we had a chance to visit for a bit. Nice people! There are 3 kangaroos that hang out and a nice backyard the kids played in. They went adventuring and found huntsman spiders as big as Alex's hand! Oh, fun!
The beach was amazing. Cylinder beach is just literally around the corner of the tip of the island on the Pacific side and gets amazing waves coming in. Alex is totally hooked on body boarding and surfers love the island for the selection of beaches with fantastic waves. We loved this beach because everyone was happy! As the tide went out, there is a flat, shallow area that protects a deeper hole that was practically wave free for the little ones. Something for everyone, for sure! Here are some pictures of the weekend for you to enjoy. The only part we didn't like was the jellyfish stings on our last day. Annika got a bluey wrapped around her wrist, Lyle got some good stings scraping it off of her and washing her down. In his words, it was like trying to wash off thick, sticky, blue snot. Took some scrubbing on his part, which meant he got some good stings as well. Ice at the lifeguard station for Annika followed by some ice cream made it all better. As she was the 3rd reported sting, the station posted jelly warnings. Didn't keep too many people away we noticed!
The Jellyfish sting. Hurts like heck!
Our little maroon Nissan X-Trail. Lightly loaded compared to many!
Annika out to try body boarding!
Alex loves to make sand turtles.
Family beach photo! Note my Medusa style hair. I so rock this!
Bury Annika time!
And Ian's turn. . .
Daddy was the abominable sand man after he got his turn being buried!
We left on Friday afternoon on the ferry from Cleveland and enjoyed the crossing. Daddy treated to toasted cheese sandwiches (cheese toasties in aussie) on the ferry and we enjoyed the views from the upper deck loungs. It was nice to have the morning to finish packing up and relaxing! We felt and looked like the Beverly Hillbillies until we got there-lots of people packed to the gills in their 4WD vehicles and utility trucks. For those not in Australia, a utility vehicle aka Ute, can be many things. A small pick up truck, a Ford Falcon (half car half truck. Think Ranchero), or a truck with flat bed with rim around. These were all piled on with coolers (Eskies) tents, tarps, bikes, sand chairs-you get the picture. For those planning on a long stay, they brought the campers or trailers also piled high. Serious fun to be had by everyone!
We got to the house we rented for the weekend. Again, nothing really special, but it was a quick drive to the beach. It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath place that was the basement of a nice house. The owners live above and we had a chance to visit for a bit. Nice people! There are 3 kangaroos that hang out and a nice backyard the kids played in. They went adventuring and found huntsman spiders as big as Alex's hand! Oh, fun!
The beach was amazing. Cylinder beach is just literally around the corner of the tip of the island on the Pacific side and gets amazing waves coming in. Alex is totally hooked on body boarding and surfers love the island for the selection of beaches with fantastic waves. We loved this beach because everyone was happy! As the tide went out, there is a flat, shallow area that protects a deeper hole that was practically wave free for the little ones. Something for everyone, for sure! Here are some pictures of the weekend for you to enjoy. The only part we didn't like was the jellyfish stings on our last day. Annika got a bluey wrapped around her wrist, Lyle got some good stings scraping it off of her and washing her down. In his words, it was like trying to wash off thick, sticky, blue snot. Took some scrubbing on his part, which meant he got some good stings as well. Ice at the lifeguard station for Annika followed by some ice cream made it all better. As she was the 3rd reported sting, the station posted jelly warnings. Didn't keep too many people away we noticed!
The Jellyfish sting. Hurts like heck!
Our little maroon Nissan X-Trail. Lightly loaded compared to many!
Annika out to try body boarding!
Alex loves to make sand turtles.
Family beach photo! Note my Medusa style hair. I so rock this!
Bury Annika time!
And Ian's turn. . .
Daddy was the abominable sand man after he got his turn being buried! Great weekend had by everyone. The third day the kids were so tired! Alex fell asleep on the floor on her pillow (a tile floor-she was exhausted!), Ian crashed out at 6:30 on the couch and Annika asked to be tucked in at 7. The ferry was an hour late leaving the island, so we enjoyed walking the jetty and watching the waves. Home with tons of salt water laden clothes and towels to work through. Glad we have the rest of this week off until the next school term begins!
Love you all!
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