North Gorge Walk

Almost everyone visits North Stradbroke Island (Straddie to locals) as a day trip or weekend getaway from nearby Brisbane, arriving by ferry or water taxi. It’s easy enough to visit Gorge Walk independently, but getting around the island by bus can be pretty slow, so some travelers opt to visit as part of a North Stradbroke Island day tour. Tours by 4WD let you see even more of the island and enjoy thrilling beach drives and challenging 4WD tracks.

• Gorge Walk is a must for nature lovers, photographers, and hikers.

• The track is just 0.75 miles (1.2 kilometers) long. Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how many photos you like to take.

• There are cafés and eateries right by the start of the walk and more in Point Lookout proper, down the road.

• Gorge Walk is a made path with handrails, but it includes steps, so it is not wheelchair-friendly.

The Gorge Walk sits just outside the little town of Point Lookout, at the northeastern corner of North Stradbroke Island. The Stradbroke Flyer water taxi and the Sealink Ferry, which carries vehicles and passengers, leave from Cleveland, about a 20-mile (30-kilometer) drive southeast of central Brisbane. Both ferries and water taxis stop in Dunwich, about a 12-mile (20-kilometer) drive or bus ride from Point Lookout.

Whales pass by between June and November, with September and October being the best months for sightings, but there’s not a bad time to visit Gorge Walk. As expected, it’s busiest over weekends and during Australian school breaks. Wallabies and kangaroos are most active around sunrise and sunset.

Beyond migrating humpback whales and their calves, Straddie is an excellent place for spotting marine life. Visit at sunrise or sunset to catch the wild dolphins that come to the jetty at Amity Point. Scuba divers are highly likely to blow bubbles alongside multiple manta rays at the Manta Bommie dive site, sometimes with sea turtles and reef sharks.