LOUISA Jones is only 18 but the volunteer lifesaver at Point Lookout Surf Life Saving Club already has her sights set on helping the community.

Ms Jones hopes to raise $5000 in 7 months

As the club’s Conrad Jupiters Miss Summer Surf Girl, Ms Jones hopes to raise $50,000 during the next seven months for life saving and training equipment on North Stradbroke Island.

“Point Lookout lifesavers are fairly isolated because of our location on Stradbroke,’’ Ms Jones said. “We don’t have the life saving support services or quick response times from the emergency services like they have on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

“We need to be fairly independent and we rely heavily on our gear if it’s not up to standard it can mean the difference between someone living or dying on our beaches.’’

Ms Jones is planning several fundraising events, including Up the Tower at the Chandler Markets on November 29 and Prawns at the Point on January 9 at the Point Lookout club.

The Summer Surf Girl program is run by Surf Life Saving Queensland to give women in the movement a chance to act as ambassadors for the organisation and their club.

Email Louisa at surfgirl@pt lookoutslsc.com or for club details phone Natasha Dennis on 0409895086.

via Point Lookout lifesaver raising funds – Local News – News | Wynnum Herald.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

North Stradbroke Island Camping

Posted By : Rhonda Budden

So you’ve just taken delivery of a new off road trailer tent and you’re itching to give it a whirl. Where are you going to take it to test out its off road handling capabilities?

Look no further than Queensland’s beautiful Moreton Bay Islands. For those that enjoy the peace and quiet of natural surroundings, both Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island offer the chance to get back to nature. As the second and third largest sand islands in the world respectively, they offer stunning, white sandy beaches, clear, crystal waters and plenty of opportunities to escape the crowds with an off road camper trailer tent.

North Stradbroke Island ‘affectionately known as ‘Straddie’ – offers amenities and things to do for all the family. The island is only accessible to visitors in the north; the southern part of the island is privately owned. However, there is plenty to do and see. From safe swimming and boating to fishing and whale watching (from June to November), there will never be a shortage of activities.

A couple of off road camping options await you on Straddie: Flinders Beach Foreshore and Main Beach Foreshore – both of which are only accessible from the beach. A 4WD permit is required for camping at both locations and the cost of this is in addition to the cost of camping there. Except for a few composting toilets at Flinders beach, there are no facilities at either location so it’s best to come with a fully kitted out camper trailer tent.

Main Beach offers 35km of unspoilt sandy beach, patrolled at one end and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. From this beach you can fish for your supper and from the nearby North Gorge Headland walk you can get a great view of the annual whale migration. Of course, if you don’t want to be too far from civilization, the restaurants and cafes of Point Lookout are only a few minutes’ drive away. Bookings are essential for camping at Flinders Beach, especially during school holidays and it’s worth remembering that this beach is not patrolled.

via Moreton Bay Camping in SE Queensland Posted By : Rhonda Budden.

“Quandamooka Country” – 150 Years in 150 Minutes

04 November 2009

OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF Q150 PROJECT “QUANDAMOOKA COUNTRY” – 150 YEARS IN 150 MINUTES”

An audio/visual collage from the land and waters of Moreton Bay.

Redlands Tourism with funding from the Premier’s Dept Q150 Unit is proud to announce the launch of the 2 dvd set which will be available as a free resource for schools, libraries, museums and tourism operators…

“This 2 dvd set is a regional collection of oral history, anecdotes, yarns and future aspirations from a broad cross section of the community” said Mr Robin Cain, Chairman, Redlands Tourism.

He went on to say “Redlands Tourism as the local tourism authority has produced the collection of facts, fiction, humour, personal interest stories, a ‘food for thought’ along with a few laughs intertwined through images past and present.”

via “Quandamooka Country” – 150 Years in 150 Minutes.

Hysteria over shark risk to swimmers unfounded

Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Rory Gibson

November 03, 2009 12:00am

THERE appears to be a VERY BIG shark out there.

We know this because it made a snack out of just a BIG shark, a 3m white pointer, off Stradbroke Island last week.

Photos of what was left of the hapless great white, huge chunks of flesh torn from its once streamlined body, flashed around the world.

The size of the bigger shark was estimated to be at least 5m, causing the sphincters of Straddie’s surfers to get very watertight indeed.

Shark photos and stories always elicit fascination but this particular photo should have caused cheering. It should have sparked a celebration that an animal that big still roams our seas.

via Hysteria over shark risk to swimmers unfounded | The Courier-Mail.

Claims of high shark numbers off Straddie dismissed

AM – Tuesday, 30 December , 2008 08:15:00

Reporter: Nicole Butler

ELEANOR HALL: Queensland’s marketing slogan used to be “Beautiful one day, perfect the next!”

But it seems the Sunshine State is no longer the place for a carefree holiday.

Tourists are being warned about shark numbers, and for the first time, visitors to the idyllic Fraser Island will be greeted by crocodile warning signs.

In Brisbane, Nicole Butler reports.

NICOLE BUTLER: Queenslanders started the week reading newspaper headlines like “Jaws terror grips the coast”, “Marauding shark packs spark panic”.

The stories followed the closure of popular beaches on Stradbroke Island over the weekend after several shark sightings. There were also reports packs of sharks in the area, and some were within 20 metres of swimmers.

But experts say many of the sightings weren’t real – they were imagined.

Peter Miller is a senior Queensland lifeguard.

PETER MILLER: I think at the moment there’s quite a bit of hysteria with that poor man being taken by a shark in Western Australia.

NICOLE BUTLER: Fifty-one-year-old Brian Guest was taken by a shark south of Perth on Saturday. The Queensland lifeguard says beachgoers have been jumpy ever since.

PETER MILLER: At the moment, I think every shadow, every dolphin from every stick in the water can be mistaken for a shark, so we have board riders coming up to us and saying, “Look, I’m sure I saw a shark”, and for a couple of weeks thereafter, there was quite a large hammerhead shark caught in the nets. We had board riders coming up and saying, “I just saw a hammerhead shark”.

Now, I don’t know that prior to that I’d ever really had a specific sighting of a hammerhead shark, so it can get a little of the better of you I think, and people do see things that perhaps aren’t there sometimes.

via AM – Claims of high shark numbers off Stradbroke Island dismissed.

First Australians Offer Key to Tourism

AAP Nov 1, 2009

Straddie's not Uluru but still has an amazing heritage

Uluru, a popular spot for tourists to experience in Australia and experience nature-based tourism in action. (Torsten Blackwood/Getty Images)

BRISBANE—For overseas tourists, an Australian holiday conjures up all types of images.

Among them might be visions of famous beaches, landmarks like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru and dry, red desert lands.

Almost certainly they’ll wonder at the ancient culture and mystique of the land’s first inhabitants – Aboriginal Australians.

And while many who come Down Under will take home seaside, bush and city snaps, many will not fulfil their urge to engage with indigenous Australians.

For those in the industry, this missing link is of concern as Australia battles against cheaper and emerging overseas destinations to lure international tourists.

It’s a problem that will be discussed at next week’s Global Eco (Global Eco) tourism conference in Alice Springs (EDS: starting November 9), where the industry will examine tourists’ growing demand for nature-based tourism and how indigenous Australia can help fill this gap.

The answer, many say, is to engage indigenous Australians to work in the tourism field, but not in the stereotypical roles many would initially think of.

via Epoch Times – First Australians Offer Key to Tourism. Read on Straddie guys…….

DESTINATION AUSTRALIA: Judith Elen celebrates solitary confinement and hunts for sustenance on a Coral Sea island

QUEENSLAND’S North Stradbroke Island,just 50km from Brisbane and framed by Moreton Bay, the South Pacific and the Coral Sea, has two faces: holiday mood and I-want-to-be-alone withdrawal. Come the school holidays, Straddie’s population trebles overnight. In the off-season, isolation is its second name.

I’m here in May and the mainland kids are at their desks. I love it; I’m all set to drink in the sea air and clamber the cliffs, eyes peeled for dolphins and dugongs. In the off-season, there are a few things you need to know to make the most of the solitude, and the first is to bring supplies.

I arrive at 4pm, off the 3pm ferry from Cleveland, and head for my accommodation at the northern tip of the island, intending to return to Dunwich, the west coast settlement, ferry stop and only real village. But by the time I reach Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel on the point, check in and drive back to Dunwich, it’s nearly 5pm and everything is closed like a clam shell. For an inner-city dweller, there’s something eerie about empty streets in broad daylight.

Though my hotel has a dozen rooms, I’m booked into an apartment, luxe and spacious, but without the usual hotel extras. Fabulous for people travelling with food, drinks, toiletries and CDs — in other words, good scouts who come prepared — it has space, style, comfort and location, location, location. Right above an empty beach and the restless sea, it is bliss sleeping here with the doors flung open to the sound of the waves.

via Stranded on Straddie | The Australian.

Straddie Fire Fighters help in Rocky

BY DANI VOLKE29/10/2009 4:31:00 PM

Straddie fire fighters assisted in Rocky last week

THREE North Stradbroke Island firefighters returned from a six-day task of helping extinguish raging fires near Rockhampton.The firefighters from Amity Point and Dunwich Fire Stations Cyril Campbell, David Thellander and Keith Borey endured 14-hour shifts, protecting the communities and homes in the path of the fires.The crews left North Straddie on October 13 and returned on October 19, after relief crews from NSW arrived in Rockhampton.Amity Point Fire Station firefighter Keith Borey said the shifts had been exhausting, but a part of the job.”It was the first time any of the crew had been away to help fight fires. It was good work. They were long hours, but that’s our job and we put in the effort for the team and the community,” Keith said.”We were placed all over, from Mount Archer and Rockhampton to Yeppoon.”

via Straddie firies help in Rocky – Local News – News – General – Bayside Bulletin / The Redland Times.

Ripping it up at the Straddie Assault

North Stradbroke Island hosted the annual Straddie Assault surf comp over the weekend. The event is open to all clubs from Noosa to Ballina and is in its 26th year, making it the longest running teams event in Australia. The surf, for the most part, was small but well-shaped beachbreaks – typical waves for Queensland at this time of year.

North Shore Boardriders (Maroochydore) took the title from some of their more fancied opponents. Adam Weathered indulged himself all weekend but managed to snap off a few shots for us. //STUART NETTLE

via Swellnet Sessions – The Straddie Assault – images by Adam Weathered.

Mick Fanning conquers the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Search Portugal

Written by Editor at SurferToday.com

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 12:02

Mick Fanning

Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, former ASP World Champion (2007) and current ASP World No. 1, has claimed the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Search at Supertubos in Portugal, defeating fellow Finalist Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, and cementing his lead in the now two-horse race for the 2009 ASP World Title.

Event No. 9 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search ran a gamut of conditions and venues ranging from two-foot righthand wedges at Molhe Leste, four-foot offshore lefthanders at Lagido, punchy four-foot peaks at Belgas and death-defying six-to-eight foot barrels at Supertubos yesterday before culminating a dramatic end to competition.

Fanning, who won the inaugural Rip Curl Pro Search at Reunion Island (2005) and was a standout in yesterday’s massive barrels, readjusted to today’s smaller conditions and was dominant in his Final against Durbidge. With conditions deteriorating, Fanning lacerated the punchy wedges on his forehand to net a solid 6.67 and a 6.00 that would prove unbeatable for his opponent.

“Yesterday was one of the best days of competition I’ve ever seen and we all showed up today and had to adjust our frame of mind to deal with the in size and quality,” Fanning said. “I’ve been surfing conditions like this all summer at home so I knew what I had to do out there. I was able to pick off a couple of good scores at the start and then I basically had to sit on Bede (Durbidge) so he didn’t get any back on me.”

via Mick Fanning conquers the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Search Portugal.