At North Stradbroke Island, it’s all about nature.

You’re surrounded by rich and unspoilt natural beauty, which not only makes for a picturesque holiday location, but also makes the island home to a variety of native animals. A must-do on your list is to visit the dolphins at Amity Point. These playful locals come right up to the jetty at sunrise and sunset, so make sure you plan to see them while you’re here (no feeding allowed!). You can also spot koalas at Amity Point, and see the kangaroos enjoying their morning meal at the top of the North Gorge walk.

Give scuba-diving a go in ‘Straddie’, and you’ll be rewarded with fantastic visibility of up to 30 metres in the summer months! There is an abundance of fascinating marine creatures living in the waters around the island, and if you’re lucky (or dedicated), you can get up close to manta rays, leopard sharks, turtles and, of course, more fish than you can poke a flipper at. Shag Rock and Flat Rock are two of the best underwater adventure locations.

Prefer dry land? Never fear: so do many of the island’s most beautiful local animals, with more than 253 species of bird to be spotted. Slightly more inland from the beaches, you will find an equally impressive natural attraction: Blue Lake National Park. Here, the park protects a freshwater lake that is of significance to the local Quandamooka people. This is the perfect place for a quiet day spent admiring nature at its best. With paperbarks, eucalypts, baksias and reeds, the lake and its surrounds is thriving with native animals, including the soft-spined sunfish, which is classified as significant to the region. Other locals include birds, goannas and wallabies, but you’ll have to creep around during the early morning and early evening to spot them.

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