South Stradbroke Island

Australia

The South Stradbroke Island (Indigenous: Minjerribah), colloquially South Straddie, is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, south of Brisbane and forms the northern end of Gold Coast. The 21km by 2.5km sized island is the smaller one of the two Stradbroke Islands and lies very close to the mainland. The island has hundreds of wild wallabies that are usually human orientated. They are also well known for stealing bread from tents and cabins, and joining campers at their fires. One of more than 360 islands within Moreton Bay, the southern end of South Stradbroke Island fronts the Broadwater, and the tip marks the Gold Coast Seaway, only a matter of metres from the mainland at Southport Spit. In the northeast is Tipplers Passage which separates the island from many smaller islands within the bay closer to the mainland. The east coast borders the Coral Sea. South Stradbroke Island consists mainly of sand dunes, remnant livistona rainforest and melaleuca wetlands. The island also has unique flora and fauna. The golden wallaby is endemic to the island and the agile wallaby, once more common to the region, has now retreated to the island. The population of the island at the was 101, but the number of people on the island swells significantly during the holiday season.