Bribie Island

Never driven there, from what I hear you need a yearly permit

Softer sand , No inland tracks [in the process] , Fishing depends on what your after , Dingos ? more like stray dogs , West side to "poverty point " , Camp areas are on west side= poverty point ,,Eastern beach 64 designated camp sites , bollards ect , only 10/11 of these are big enough for a c/trailer , ,,, yearly beach access permit $100 ,,monthly $32 ,, no such thing as a daily or weekly permit ,,camping fees as per Qld nat parks ,$4 per person per night ,peak periods sites must be booked , no such thing as FREE camping on Island , Rangers every where every day , No camp-fire's except in designated pits.

The beach on Bribie is about half the width of Fraser, is quite steep in parts and after a decent blow has some pretty steep jump ups but very few washouts. The fishing is seasonal like most places in south east queensland; summer whiting are on the boil now. I have just had first hand reports from rellies of low 40cm long summer whiting (got two 43cm and one 42cm there last year) who returned to Brisvegas after three weeks up there on Saturday. You fish the island if its blowing anything westerly or the passage side if it is blowing easterly. The western (passage side) is not driven on at all as for most of its length it is litte more than a creek bank with maybe a metre of sand/mud between scrub and the water at full tide. There are a few walking tracks that go from side to side (the best is almost straight across from the Light tower on the mainland and goes through to another marker on the eastern side about 1km from the northern end) As for Dugongs and Dingo's; never seen them but I've never been looking for them anyway.
I used to live on Bribie Island for over a decade but moved in 1990 and have never driven the beach there since so I have no up to date knowledge on campsites/permits/fees and have used a tinny to cross the passage to the above mentioned track (look for a line of yellow 'Submarine Cable beneath' marker signs running east from the Caloundra Powerboat club is probably a better bet to find it) when I want to fish on the island.

Personally I would drive another hour and go to Cooloola/Noosa NorthShore via the ferry ($5 bucks each way) but due to its popularity it is not uncommon to have to drive 25km along the beach to find a decent campsite that isn't inhabited. Also 2 to 3 times a day the iceman/milkman/paperman drives past so fresh supplies aren't far away but you pay for them though. If you dont have a dual battery/fridge setup you can easily get away wwith a big icebox for a long time up there as a bag of ice a day keeps everything cool. Also there is the Cherry Venture wreck and a trip up to Inskip/Rainbow beach if the surfs flat or you havent quite fulfilled the need to go beach driving yet.

For more info contact the Noosa or Rainbow Beach Rangers ( go to www.epa.qld.gov.au and follow the links)
Ben

Last time up there was about a month ago. Regular visitor to the island.
Beach conditions vary dramatically and seem to change very regularly. A month ago it was very easy, but could be very different now.

No access allowed to the inland tracks. There is a track on the western side to Poverty Pt. Haven't been there for a while - much prefer the 'surf side'.

Family had a holiday home there through the 70's and 80's - never saw a dingo there.

Designated camp areas on the surf side are all different - some large, some small, few have access for campers / trailers. Bookings required in advance through the EPA website. All sites are within a stones throw of the water. Check the EPA site for a map of the sites. We prefer the sites that have their own beach access best - nobody close to you.

Best part is that it's only one hour from the Brisbane CBD.

Vehicle access permit required.

We live on the island and most of the above is correct. The beach access was soft as a week ago so good speed is needed to get on/off the beach. We took it too slow getting on the beach and got stuck but made it off OK with a bit too much speed. People were also getting stuck in the camping areas on the beach as the sand is so soft. Take a shovel or two and a snatch strap.

EPA are opening a new track on the western side of the island that will end at the top of the beach camp area so you will be able to access that camp without going on the beach.

The inland tracks are easy but you can only go to Gallaghers and Poverty Point right now. There are a heap of other tacks on the island but they are all closed and probably will never be opened again.

Camping is at Gallaghars (no toilets), Poverty (good toilets and plenty of grass, nice camp) and the top of the beach (sand and now some toilets). No water at any camp.

The beach is real busy at the weekends. Fishing is so so, we don't bother now close to the island as what we catch is too small. Dugongs, we have seen them from the boat in the middle of Moreton Bay but never from the land, you quite often see Dolphins from the land on both sides of the island.

Not sure where is really safe but anywhere on Bribie is safer than on the main land. We once left a vehicle for sale parked in the main carpark just after the 2nd roundabout when you get on the island close to that roundabout and had no problems.

When is he going? If it is after 15 Nov, we will be in a new house with a empty block next door and he could park it there and we could keep an eye on it - all care but no responsibility but better than at the surf club carpark or other carparks close to the surf beach. We are away quite often and also will have no room for extra vehicles at our new house so cannot guarantee there will be no problems but the area is probably the safest to leave a vehicle in on the island.

Stevesub

Hi Leonora,

Went to Bribie today. Don't tell anybody but it was beautiful.

The access road is the worst part of the trip. Had no problems getting on and off the beach with the tyres at full inflation. It was low tied so the beach was firm 2WD stuff and flat. But as others have stated it varies a lot.

Did attempt to go into one of the camp sites and to my embarrassment got stuck. Had to let the tyres down and dig sand out. All was well. It has been so dry here that there is no bottom to the sand. If there is rain soon it will make the access to the camp sites a little better.

Got one Flathead and half a dozen whiting on worms. There was a little bit of weed coming in and the water was so clear.

Love the island

Redeye