Holiday on North Stradbroke Island March 2017

We're off to Straddie with the Sirens!

Wet weather couldn't dampen our spirits as we boarded the ferry at Cleveland to travel to North Stradbroke Island for a few days of fun and friendship with our Sirens sisters .In the end only ten of the twelve were able to go. Sadly Heather and Lesley had to pull out due to ill health.

 

We're on the ferry

 

Jan, Judi B and Maggie relax on the ferry

When we disembarked at Dunwich, we decided to meet at the pub at Point Lookout as it was still a little too early to check in to our accommodation.

 The pub served very very nice lunches, and some of us wasted no time indulging in seafood (that seemed to be a running theme for the week....eat seafood!)
The above photo show (L to R) Queen Sandi, Barb, Jan, Gay, Judi B, Maggie, Judith McD, Margot, Sue (Marion took the photo)

For our first night at Pandanus Palms Resort we met up in one of the three units for a joint home-made dinner of various BBQ meats and salads. A couple of the girls cooked inside due to the inclement weather making it impossible to BBQ on the deck as planned. It was a lovely meal anyway.

 

Judi B, Jan, Barb Margot and Marion raise a glass

 

Judi B and Maggie lend support to our chef, Judith

The resort we stayed in was quite comfortable and had sea views. All the units had two bedrooms, one with two single beds and one with a double. On the other level was a living area that included a kitchen, dining and lounge with a deck that had a BBQ and outdoor setting.
We are very indebted to Jan for booking such a great holiday deal for us.

On our second morning on Straddie, we all decided to explore Straddie in our own way. Some of us drove back towards Dunwich. We found a lovely coffee shop at the Fruit shop and stopped to have morning tea.

After morning tea we drove on to the Brown Lake. We found a group of kids playing beach cricket and another group kayaking on the lake. We went for a paddle. The Brown lake gets its name from the teatree stained water.

Some of the girls went swimming in the sea, some went shopping and some went for walks at Point Lookout. Although the weather was overcast, the rain mostly held off so we could get out and about.

Queen Sandi is jubilant with this gorgeous view!

Some of the girls returned to Amity Point to the fish shop we'd scoped out earlier in the day. We bought Fresh cooked tiger prawns, soft shell crabs and oysters and took this booty to Amity Point boat ramp to enjoy the sunset from this vantage point.
Not only was the sunset lovely, we spotted some dolphins and saw some curlews in the park.
The fresh seafood was divine!!!!!

Now we don't want to give you the impression we were gorging ourselves on seafood....but when you're on Straddie and it's all just there for the eating....well what's a girl to do?

To fill in spare time, we also indulged in some games and puzzles. The ladies particularly enjoyed playing Bananagrams, Rummicub and Mingh as well as perfecting their ball skills.

The next day, we all entertained ourselves again. There was lots to do on the Island, and plenty of restaurants to choose from. Did I mention the  fabulous Seafood?

Fresh Moreton Bay Bugs went down well!

 

One of the locals at Amity Point urged us to visit a certain beach at Amity where dolphins usually feed very close to the shore in the late afternoon. He said they are close enough to shore to swim around your legs. So we went!

 

Sadly the dolphins decide to stay well offshore, and some of the ladies got confused with directions and never found the beach. the sandflies played havoc with some of the ladies' delicate skin. Nasty itchy blisters ensued (and a visit to the doctor next day)

Curry night at the pub was a bit of a fizzer. The only curry on offer was chicken tikka marsala....oh well....

Jan's granddaughter Stevie works at Point Lookout in our of the lovely coffee shops there. We all congregated at the Blue Room for a very delicious (and healthy!) morning tea served by Stevie and her colleagues.

Sisters Judith and Margot

Sisters Marion and Sue enjoy an iced coffee together

Vice Queen Jan and Queen Sandi enjoying the lovely fare at the Blue Room


Later that day in the evening we all met up in one of the units for pre-dinner drinks.

We shouldn't have had so much pre-dinner nibbles....that night we had a special pre-birthday dinner for Jan ( who is celebrating a very significant birthday in a few weeks time) We booked in to Whales at the resort where we were staying.

Sue presented Jan with some fun and silly presents for her pre-birthday

And a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday" was sung by all.

 

Yet more seafood was eaten....and we're not even tired of it yet!

 

A beautiful Straddie sunrise

We managed to squeeze in one last coffee at the Fruit shop before we had to leave for the ferry

Boarding the car ferry

We had a good trip on the ferry back to Cleveland. Some of the girls were lucky to have an extra day of fun on Straddie, while some of us had to return early to catch planes and attend other family commitments.

It was a lovely trip away and great to spend time with some special friends. A very big Thank You to Jan for arranging this trip.