Stradbroke Island: superb holday location with whale watching, surfing, and natural beauty

I was having coffee with my wife and a local friend at a Cafe overlooking Point Lookout on Stradbroke Island. Suddenly everybody jumped up excitedly and moved to the other side of the road (on the edge of the cliff looking seawards).

Then I realized what they were looking at. To our right (from the South) was a long line of whales moving north in pairs and threes. The whales were breeching the water and then diving. This was a spectacular sight and it took about 15 minutes for them to pass by.

The image of this majesty passing by is something I will never forget.

When our children were younger (and we were fitter), we used to camp on Stradbroke Island - Cylinders Beach, Point Lookout or Adders Rock.

Our children would surf at one of the many beaches, swim in Brown Lake, roll down the huge sand dunes or catch colorful fish in the pristine, clear water amongst the rocks. We would watch the dolphins play in the surf and see them ride the waves in.

In the evening we would go to meet the professional fisherman returning from the day's catch and buy one of their fish fresh off the boat to cook for dinner.

The kids loved to see our friend feed her dog its daily quota of fresh fish (great for the dog's coat!).

Note: 6 April 2009 - my son is heading to Straddie with a couple of his mates to camp for a few nights.

On one occasion my wife and two children were swimming in Brown Lake on Stradbroke Island while I was resting on the sand above them. [Brown Lake is colored brown because of the Tea Tree oil from the surrounding trees. The water is very shallow and is always warm.]

At the time I had been working on my PhD and trying to get my head around 5 years of data collection. We had decided to go to Straddie to help me get away from the thesis work and give me a break.

While I was sitting on the bank of Brown Lake listening to the birds, an innovative model came to me as a way to express my five years of research.

I raced to the car and grabbed some flipchart paper (all good consultants always carry flipchart paper with them wherever they go).

Then I went over to the barbecue and grabbed a few burnt twigs and started to draw and re-draw the model. This model became the foundation of my PhD write-up and my contribution to knowledge via my Doctorate on action learning.

Moral of the story: Sometimes, you need to stand still to move forward.

On Saturday 16 August, my wife and I attended one of the sessions of the Chamber Music Festival held on Stradbroke Island. We were able to hear members of The Queensland Symphony Orchestra play Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A and Brahms Sextet for Strings in B flat.

We had a real sense of Chamber Music as we were seated 20 feet from the musicians in the old Stradbroke Island Church at Point Lookout. Meeting some of the musicians afterwards was a real pleasure.

This is my 50th published lens and I have now been made a Giant Squid.

To celebrate, my wife and I will spend a weekend on Stradbroke Island with our long-standing friend who lives at Dunwich on the Island.

I can think of no better way to relax and wind-down after this mammoth effort (which I thoroughly enjoyed).

My favorite way to get to the Island is to take the car via the Stradbroke Island Car Ferry. This is an hour's trip across the tranquil waters of Moreton Bay amongst the islands.

All your cares seem to float away as the mainland disappears in the distance behind you.