North Stradbroke Island

[Jon79f]

Howdy,

After 12 months of RRS ownership, I am going up to Qld on holidays and am thinking of doing a day trip to straddie.

I have bought a snatch strap and compressor, but I dont have any real 4wd experience. People have said that straddie is a good place to start as it is relatively easy to get around as long as I take the softly softly approach.

Has anyone on here driven there? Any advise, suggestions or reviews would be great.

Looking forward to 5 hours of beach driving followed by 20 hours of cleaning!!

[harry]

hi jon, you will enjoy straddie, let the tyres down to about 18 to 20psi and drive carefully.
you don't say what size tyres you have, some low profile tyres may not fit the bill, but it's not all that hard driving on sand.

straddie has some nice tracks to drive and most would be ok on road pressures, but the crossings to the beaches is where you need lower pressures to get through the rough stuff, driving on the wet sand where the tide has gone out is a breeze.

have a read of the 4wd mags and sand driving tips.

[Presto]

We've been there 3 times now and loved it!

Some of the 'puddles' along Fisherman's road will be fun after the wet weather we've had recently! A couple were over the bonnet when we were there last year.
Usual caution should be applied -Walk it before you drive through etc etc

Main beach can get very soft (I pulled 2 toyota's out within 10m of each other! :p), but if you catch it right on an outgoing tide it's a nice spot!:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/02/1223.jpg

Flinders beach is worth the drive up to the top end, especially if main beach is not so nice (one is usually better than the other in my experience - must be a tide/current thing?)

There's a few Fraser regulars in our club who may have some good tips on driving in/on sand.

[sheerluck]

I've been over to Straddie several times and as Harry and Presto have already said, there are a few bits to watch out for.

Flinders beach is my favourite, as we normally take the dog over and it's an off-leash area, and the main entries onto the beach are normally very soft and badly cut up (should be a little better with all the rain we've had), but once you get onto the harder sand that's washed by the tide it's a doddle.

[2stroke]

A beach permit is required, $37 or so for 1 year, available at the newsagent at Dunwich and the tourist centre. Get and understand the tide chart, beaches are closed 1 hour either side of high tide and hefty fines apply! Drive safe and have fun!

[Jon79f]

Thanks Everyone for your assistance.

I know the wheels could be an issue - I have 20inch Wheels with low profile tyres, but am not going to do anything too challenging - am definately one to err on the side of caution.

One quick additional question - Should I wash the salt off the underbody etc as soon as I get back to Broadbeach (we are staying in an apartment), or will it be ok to wait until I get home in Sydney a week later?

At Home I have a gerni and sprinkler etc to to a proper job, and I am not sure the best way to attack it with just a hose.

Thanks again for your replies.

[Presto]

Personally, I'd get the salt off asap, and the most convenient setup is a 'Car Lovers' or similar as you can leave all the sand behind! :wasntme:

[djhampson]

When you are washing the car, turn the front wheels fully to each lock, when you do this you can get easy access to a few holes in the chassis. Stick a hose in there for a minute or two.

A fair bit of sand and salt will flow out of the the holes further down the chassis.

There are a few holes you can use at the back but they are harder to find cause the wheel is in the way.

[blue_mini]

Don't bother trying to get sand off with a pressure washer. All it takes is a low pressure hose into all the cracks and crevices. Then keep going over it until your soaking wet and the water runs off clean. Even a quick run up the back will get sand everywhere.

Otherwise when your on sand go easy on the brakes. Sand piles up very quickly in front of the wheels and you can big yourself easily.