Top five things I learnt taking my family to North Stradbroke Island in a VW Multivan

A short ferry ride from the Brisbane suburb of Cleveland, North Straddie (Minjerribah in the language of the Quandamooka traditional owners and custodians) is the second-largest sand island in the world.

You don’t need a four-wheel drive to get around and enjoy most of the island, unless you want to drive up one of the vehicle-accessible beaches or inland off-road tracks, as there is bitumen straight off the boat at Dunwich and between the other two main townships, Amity Point and Point Lookout.

The island is well serviced with ferry options from the mainland at Cleveland. The SeaLink North Stradbroke Island vehicle ferry runs throughout the day and takes 45 minutes, while the passenger ferry is 20 minutes quicker. There is also an excellent bus service around the island, so a day trip on foot is a realistic option.

If you catch the ferry first thing in the morning or afternoon, you’ll see local children making their way to and from the mainland for school. That beats the school bus!

We’re travelling in the short-wheelbase seven-seat VW Multivan Edition and the sliding side doors are perfect for the kids piling in and out of the back on a tightly packed ferry without worrying they are going to bang their doors into neighbouring vehicles.

For our three nights on the island, we stay in a serviced apartment at Point Lookout and make a Father's Day long weekend of it.

As a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au, here are my family’s top five things we learned driving the VW Multivan around North Stradbroke Island:

There is so much room in the VW Multivan, even this short-wheelbase version. As our three-generation family trip used only five of the seven seats, we removed the third row to make room for our luggage, so I would LOVE to experience the long-wheelbase version that has seven- or eight-seat options. I also think that one may provide the most personal space I have had since before having my first daughter!

We were immediately excited as the seven-seat short-wheelbase model arrived with two individual seats in the first and second rows and three individual seats in the third row.

You can slide the rear seats backwards and forwards individually on their tracks to distribute legroom and shoulder room however your family needs. The detachable armrests also mean you can change the layout to three second-row seats and two third-row seats, or you could remove and even rotate individual seats to suit your exact requirements, such as loading a long object along one side and having all the passengers on the other.

We wanted to take our huge travel fridge full of all the food favourites for our fussy eaters, so removed two of the outer third-row seats (VW has made this really easy) and slid the central seat forward to the second row to give us a humungous boot space!

So big our 95-litre fridge/freezer fits with all our luggage, and even my injured daughter’s crutches fit. There was so much space that I let my youngest take her entire soft-toy collection and we even considered bringing their bikes or scooters until we remembered one child was on crutches.

In the cabin, space is excellent too. Having three individual seats gave everyone in the second row a bit of personal space, which we also appreciated in the front as it helped keep the sibling squabbling to a minimum.

The Multivan should serve your family through multiple life stages, as there is ample head and legroom for lanky teens as they grow, as well as adults in the back.

Fold-down trays in the front seatbacks are great for little ones to use for their toys or snacks while travelling. You can also rest a tablet there for plugged-in kids, which would be great on the ferry crossing and save you a fortune at the onboard café.

In the front, we parents are very comfortable too and I loved having my own driver’s area cordoned off by armrests on either side of me. There are plenty of cup holders for everyone’s caffeine needs, although not pushing the cups firmly enough into the tight, springy holders caused at least a couple of spillages.

We based ourselves at Point Lookout, the most easterly land-based whale-watching spot on the East Coast of Australia.

It also happens, in my opinion, to be home to the nation’s best ice cream shop! Whale Tail Gelati & Coffee Bar has a line all day long, for good reason. We tested the 7am opening on Father's Day for breakfast and were surprised to find we weren’t the only ones indulging ourselves.

The ice cream is home-made and truly delicious, with lots of fresh and interesting flavours like dragon fruit with lychee, pear with mint and lime, and even avocado! Which of course I had to try (don’t knock it until you experience it) with a rainbow chocolate whale-tail topper!

We took our ice cream across the street and found a comfy spot on the grass. It may be Father's Day, but it’s Mother Nature who turns on her best show.

There are pods of dolphins surfing in the waves, whales blowing and breaching, and turtles bobbing in the bright turquoise water. Beside us a curlew sits on its nest, kangaroos bound in and out of the shrubbery, and brahminy kites fly along the cliff edge with their fish breakfast in their claws.

If, like me, you’re a nature lover, Straddie is heaven!

Time your trip between June and October and you are pretty much guaranteed to spot humpback whales on their annual migration from cold Antarctic waters to the warmer breeding grounds off the north Queensland coast. We visit in September when they are travelling back down to Antarctica with their calves.

It’s hard to imagine these enormous and majestic mammals were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries, captured at a whaling station on nearby Moreton Island where they were used for many things including fuel, cosmetics, oil, fertilisers and more. By 1962, their population had been reduced to just 250 from 45,000.

Thankfully whales became protected in the Southern Ocean in 1981 (the year I was born) and, just in my lifetime, they have returned to pre-whaling numbers. Everywhere we look there are whales breaching, blowing and slapping tails and pectoral fins.

Across the road at the Blue Room, a board proudly displays the current whale count for this season at 3912 sightings. There’s also excellent coffee, smoothies and sunshine chai, and it’s hard to resist taking home something from the adjoining shop’s collection of books, art and trinkets.

Out the front, a boardwalk stretches left and right along the cliff top with glorious ocean views. Turn right to the North Gorge Walk, a stunning 30-minute boardwalk around the clifftops. Look down into the gorge’s crisp turquoise water to spot turtles and, as you make your way around to the natural blowhole, you get amazing views of the whales, dolphins and South Pacific Ocean.

Don’t let the name put you off, as Brown Lake is an idyllic place for a family swim. This freshwater lake gets its dark colour from the surrounding tea trees, making it a cool and refreshing swim on a hot day.

Heading inland from Dunwich, follow the signs for ‘Brown Lake’. It’s an unsealed track out to the lake and we managed it fine in the VW Multivan, but it can become quite chopped up after heavy rain, so check the track condition with a local before heading out if you’re not in a four-wheel drive.

The area is abundant with wildlife. Goannas, owls and koalas can be spotted in the trees on the drive in and around the lake. As we get out of the Multivan, a quick look up reveals a sleepy koala, and we enjoy plenty of the local birdlife while having a morning swim.

Having a high ceiling, spacious interior and tinted windows meant the Multivan easily doubled as a changing room to get in and out of our togs.

If you configure the seats differently, there is plenty of space for taking a small kayak. There are two 12-volt sockets in the boot space so you can easily plug in a pump for inflatables.

As you drive around the island, a lot of signs warn you about local wildlife on the roads, and these are not put there for show. We stopped many times as kangaroos and koalas frequented the nature strips and trees and simply wandered onto the roads. You need to keep your eyes peeled, although it seemed a local Point Lookout curlew had learned to use the pedestrian crossing!

Low local speed limits are enforced, especially when weekends and school holidays bring more visitors.

Thankfully the cruise control in the Multivan sticks accurately to the set speed and is super simple to operate using the buttons on the left side of the steering wheel, so I could keep my eye out for wildlife rather than on the speedo.

The big windows in the VW Multivan and high seating position mean everyone has a great view out and can easily spot wildlife while driving along.

Of course, there’s a plethora of beaches around Straddie for you to choose from. We watched surfers tackle big waves at Main Beach and others enjoy a relaxing paddle in calmer turquoise water at South Gorge.

No day on Straddie is complete without an Amity Point sunset!

This is a popular spot for families to camp and swim. Amity Point faces west, so sunsets are guaranteed and the calm waters of Moreton Bay are perfect for kids to swim safely in the beach enclosure.

The jetty is popular for fishing, or just looking down into the crystal-clear water, where we spotted a big ray chilling in the shallows while we were there.

Our kids love monkeying around on the simple playground near the boat ramp while the grown-ups enjoy a sundowner and spot passing whales and dolphins, making it an unforgettable end to a wonderful holiday before hopping back into the VW Multivan for the ferry home.

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