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If the marketing strategy for your law firm depends on online marketing, niche marketing to particular industries, traditional advertising, or just retaining and growing wallet share of a solid growth of clients, you’ll need to generate content.

Content is an essential part of legal marketing, and without it you might just as well not have a law firm marketing plan. But producing content requires hard work, and you must make the best of the writing that you manage to produce. Here are just a few suggestions for making sure you use two of the most popularly produced types of legal marketing content as best you can.

Law Firm Marketing – Written material (blogs, email alerts, brochures, guides, information sheets)
If you’ve created some worthwhile, interesting material in any of the types above, don’t just send it out once or print it and leave it to stagnate in your reception area. You should distribute that content as widely as is possible. For every piece of writing you produce, consider:

- Have I distributed it to as many, relevant, clients as I can?
- Is it loaded to my website?
- Have I emailed it directly to referrers, associates and other professionals?
- Have I linked to it with a post on Facebook and a tweet on Twitter?
- Has it been sent to media contacts?
- Are others in my company aware of it and can they explain it further if a client asks about it?
- Can I turn it into another kind of content and distribute in a different forum?

Law Firm Marketing – Presentations
Presentations are usually created with a particular reception in mind, or because of a particular request. Therefore they are often presented only once then left to stagnate. All of that effort and time required to prepare them gets just one presentation. To get more out of your presentation consider:

- What other companies may I show it to?
- How can I let the most people know about it?
- Have I mentioned it on my website, Facebook, Twitter, and offered to present it to others?
- Can I send a hard copy of the presentation to people who were unable to attend the seminar?
- Could I record an audio or video of the presentation and distribute it via email or directly?
- Is it viable to write an article or blog to discuss questions that arose during the presentation?
- Have I followed up with additional content to all the people that attended the presentation?

Although a lot of these ideas might feel like additional work just when you’ve probably created a dent in your monthly billings with the amount of time you spent preparing the first lot of material, it’s essential to consider that it is far easier to add a tiny amount of time at the end to really impact on the impression you’ve already produced than to produce a whole new piece of legal marketing material.

Increase the benefits of the time you put into law firm marketing and you’ll discover that the next time you create some content you’ll feel more confident about how effective the results will be.

John Gray is a practising lawyer and the Senior Marketer at John Gray Marketing, an Australian specialist law firm and legal marketing consultancy. If you are interested in law marketing, legal marketing and marketing for lawyers, contact John Gray today.

Relationship and Marriage counseling can help you discover how compatible you are.

The two most important factors that decide how similar you are as a couple are:

A similar level of psychological vitality and maturity and a compatible ranking of Instinctual Variants.

What are Instinctual Variants?
The 3 Instincts represent the natural energies or drive that are inherently part of us as humans. Our personality is highly engaged with and often dependent on these libidinal, instinctual energies to give it its spark.

Self Preservation Instinct.
People of this Instinctual type are often with the essential survival needs as they translate into our contemporary society, for example, money, food, accomodation, health, safety and comfort.
Being safe and physically comfortable are priorities, and they will tend to bring these supplies with them.
When entering a room, they will tend to notice lighting, uncomfortable chairs, the room temperature, when the lunch break will be, and whether they will like the food provided. They tend also to be the most practical in the sense of taking care of basic life necessities.
They are the most introverted of the types.

Sexual/ Intimate Instinct.
People of this type have a intense desire for intensity of experience and intimacy. The direct riveting gaze is the dead giveaway. When they enter a situation they automatically gravitate toward people they feel attracted to, as if they are looking for the juice. These people can turn into intimacy addicts, often ignoring pressing obligations or even basic hygiene if they are infatuated with something that has captured them. This gives a wide ranging exploratory philosophy to life, but can also give a lack of focus on one’s own goals.

Social Instinct.
People of this type are preoccupied on their interactions with others and with the sense of value and esteem they derive from their participation in collective activities. These include occupation, relationships, side activities and clubs.
Upon entering a room, these people would immediately be aware of the power structures and subtle politics between different people and groups. They are subconsciously focused on other people’s reaction to them, particularly about whether they are being accepted or not.
They need to interact with others to feel secure, acknowledged and energised. They seem to love interacting with people, but they avoid intimacy.
They are the most extroverted of the types.

Within a personality, one of these three Instincts will dominate. In fact the three traits can be ranked liked the sections of a cake, with the most predominant one at the top. The weakest one, at the bottom, is termed the blind spot.
These instincts play an essential role in our relationships because people of the same type tend to share values and to understand each other completely, and therefore feel very compatible.

In relationships between 2 different Instinctual types, each will struggle to convert the other.

For further information on discovering whether you and your partner are compatible, contact the Hart Centre Australia. We are Australia’s premier relationship and marriage counselling service with 53 locations Australia wide, and 8 relationship counselling centres in Brisbane, 3 marriage counselling centres in the Gold Coast, and 2 relationship counselling locations on the Sunshine Coast. Phone 1300 830 552 for appointments at all centres.

For relationship counselling Brisbane, marriage counselling gold coast and marriage counselling sunshine coast, contact your local Hart Centre.

Stone veneer is a modern way to decorate the walls of a building. The stone veneer cladding presents a stylish method adopted by architects to impart a dynamic look to a lifeless construction. This is mostly used for aesthetic purposes and has a long life. The elegance and simplicity of stone veneer provides homeowners, architects, builders and developers with a versatility and flexibility to be more to creative. Stone veneer is also efficiently used in landscape and complementing the natural beauty of the open spaces as well.

Stone Veneer acts as a decorative and protective masking on exterior as well inside walls and surfaces. The veneer is commonly one inch thick; it is lighter in weight and weighs about 15 lbs. / sq. ft. It does not need any extra structural support for its installation.

Stone Veneer is mostly made from natural stones. It can also be produced from manufactured stones. The natural stone veneer is manufactured from stone, which is collected from quarries or as subject stone. The stone is then sawn making use of huge diamond impregnated cutters equally spaced to get the slices of the stone in a consistent heavyness and weight. This stone is also known as “thin stone veneer”.

Besides the natural stone veneer, manufacture stone veneer is also a ornamental constructing material. It is produced to imitate the appearance of natural stone. There are various names used for this type of veneer. The stacked stone veneer, artificial stone veneer, manufactured stone veneer and versatile stone veneer are various names used for stone veneer.

Stone veneer is produced by mixing a lightweight concrete mix to rubber molds of different type. These are painted with a coloring process to make them resemble the real stone. one more method to make stone veneer is by casting and molding it from chemically modified lightweight concrete. Stone veneer is actually a replica of natural stone. It takes the finest details of the original stone. At a close look, the artificial stone veneers appear just like original stones.

The stone veneer is mostly used as a siding on the walls. It can be fixed on the walls employing unique high quality mortars for highest adhesion and strength. versatile stone veneer is manufactured by slicing a thin level of a stone. It is then backed by some composite material. It can be produced in a variety of designs and colors using different stones. The manufactured stone veneer is less costly than natural stone veneer and there is the least amount of wastage in its use.

Manufactured stone veneer costs almost 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of using natural stone. due to the fact of the lightweight of the manufactured stone veneer, there is no need for wall ties or any footings. It makes the construction easier and thereby decreases the cost. There is a vast variety of designs, patterns and colors available on manufactured options as compared to the natural stone mainly because the natural stone is generally used in the area around where it is extracted due to the huge transportation charges.

Manufactured stone veneer is relatively less strong as compared to natural stone rock walls, but many applications do not call for higher strength as visuals is a more important element in many cases. Stone veneer is also not reusable like natural stones.

Stone veneer provides the natural look of the stones at inexpensive price ranges. Stone veneers are preferred these days for most of decorative facing in creatings and open spaces.

The term SEO as we all know is an acronym of search engine optimization which is the process of improving a websites visibility on search engines. Websites that are highly ranked in search results have more site visitors. SEO targets many selections which includes picture search, local search, video search and academic search. Today, there are many companies offering low cost SEO packages~deals} for consumers~shoppers~buyers} who want their sites’ rankings to rise. SEO’s (acronym referring to search engine optimizers) use different methods to realize good search engine marketing on the buyer’s website.

Any company offering low-cost SEO bundles~deals} should be able to allow the buyers site rise in the search engines fast. When many internet users search for a particular term(also referred to as ‘keyword’), they perceive the ones at the top as having more relevance to the keyword. Although there are many components that lead to a website obtaining to the top spot (or at least amongst the top ten), SEO comes in handy to make sure that this is realized in a short period of time. being professional, SEO’s know what is best for a site and how to go about producing sure that it rises to the top. They use a variety of tactics that are all geared towards achieving the same.

A few of the methods they use include:

-Back links building and,
- LSI (Latent Semantic Index) content writing.

In back link building, inbound hyperlinks are used to improve a site’s visibility. Inbound links are from other sites and they are important simply because of their significance to search engine marketing. A site with a big number of back hyperlinks is one indication that it is common and of significance to others too. Google and other web search engines determine the Page Rank of a website or webpage due to the number of back links it has. It is As a result worth noting that this SEO option is of great importance to any website owner who wants his site to get ranked fast.

LSI content writing is amongst the most well-liked SEO possibilitys. since search engines rely on the content on the website or webpage so that it gets ranked, having a website that is well taken care of in this area is very important to the owner. For illustration, Google is very stringent when it comes to content. They demand a webpage to have keyword rich content so that it can get good rankings. In many cases, search engine optimizers jot down content for buyer}s observing key phrase density and also length. content of considerable good length are better positioned to get ranked much simpler than short ones with crappy content. All content articles have to be free from plagiarism. This means that they are authentic and written by the site owner and are not copied from other resources.

In most cases, purchaser}s who consult these inexpensive SEO bundles~deals} suppliers want companies so as to improve rankings to their money creating websites. They either have affiliate links on their sites, promote CPA, run adsense or offer companies that people pay for. To them, it is an investment and therefore it makes perfect reason for obtaining good site rankings.

To get the best inexpensive SEO package deal, a customer} desires to look for the following qualities:

- whether the company has been offering the companies for a considerable period of time of time,

-regardless of whether the company charges reasonably,

-regardless of whether the company offers all the solutions that he/she wants and also,

-no matter if the company has reviews from previous successful projects.

Having found that all the above points~factors} are well taken care of, he/she can from that level sequence their providers. The consumer} should ensure that all instructions and particulars are meticulously tended to before giving them out to the SEO guys. using inexpensive SEO packages~deals} has confirmed to be the most efficient way that website owners use to make to the top of the web search engine results. because of the ever growing internet using inhabitants globally, these companies will continue to provide their solutions to the ever hungry website owners who also want to get a item of the large chunk of money made from the internet. To sum up, we can say that this is two way traffic as both the consumer and the service provider need one other.

Looking for a cheap SEO packages? Try this new service from Search Tempo. These cheap SEO packages are just about the best value on the internet.

If you are an avid party thrower and you want that extra special something to add that element of glam to your party, spit roast hire is a great idea. Spits come in different sizes and depending on the number of men and women at your party and the amount of space you have at your disposal, you can roast a few of chickens or even a whole pig or goat. When thinking of spit roast hire there are several easy ways to procure what you need through the yellow pages and the internet. Nevertheless, before you go in for spit roast hire, there are some important things you must take into consideration.

Do It by yourself v/s catering.
For a lot of individuals, do it oneself options are much better because they can save on lots of money. Setting up a spit and in fact cooking on it can be a time consuming and cumbersome task. When it can come to spit roast hire, there are businesses which will let you simply hire the spit roast and do everyissue yourself, or give you a completely loaded package in which everypoint from setting up, cleaning up and serving is done by a team of professional caterers. So depending on whether you have enough time or not you can decide if you want to do it all by yourself or pay someone else to do it for you.

Gas Spit v/s Charcoal Spit
When thinking about spit roast hire, you must first decide what kind of a spit you will need. There are spits that work on charcoal and those that work on gas. Weigh the pros and cons of each type and decide which one you want. The good thing about charcoal spits is the fact that the meat you cook on it will retain the delightful smokey flavor of the charcoal. Gas spits will not permit for that. however, charcoal spits are messy, they create a lot of smoke cigarettes and can be dangerous if not attended to. Gas spits are cleaner, make less of a mess and don’t create as much smoke. Another disadvantage of charcoal spits is that you are unable to use them in closed spaces because they create a lot of heat and burn. If you plan to cook insides, a gas spit makes much more sense. however, with gas spits you have to make sure the enclosed area is well ventilated.

Size Does Matter
Another important aspect of spit roast hire you must consider is the size of spit you need. What kind of meat are you planning to cook? A spit roast is a very versatile technique of cooking and everymatter from cow, venison, bull, goat and pig can be cooked on it. relying on the type of and amount of meat you want to cook, you have to choose an appropriately sized spit . For occasion if you wish to cook a full grown goat, you will need a spit that permits for 25kgs. Of course, the greater the spit size you choose, the more expensive the affair will be. speaking about spit roast hire, gas spits come in a limited number of sizes while charcoal spits are obtainable in a bigger range of sizes.

Cost Of Charcoal v/s Gas Spit
One of the most important things that you must keep in mind when going in for spit roast hire, is the cost. You have to first figure out how much you can afford and how much you are willing to spend to hire a spit roast. A lot of men and women feel that charcoal spits are cheaper which in fact is not the case. Technically if you go to see, charcoal and gas spits cost practically the same if you take the total cost of cooking into consideration. The fee to hire a charcoal spit is much less than that of a gas spit but what you must take into consideration is the fact that charcoal spits require additional fuel while gas spits don’t.

So depending on whether you are having an inside or outdoor party or if you want to be extravagant or minimalistic, put some time into research, figure out what you need and then go in for the right spit roast hire. For more information about spit roast hire Brisbane, visit http://spitroasthire.brisbaneoz.com/

You’ve decided it’s time for a new site or design. For most, the first step is to choose the right company. However, the first thing you need to do is formulate at least a basic idea of what you expect from a finished product. Not only is this step commonly ignored in the initial phase of project formulation, but also during the creative briefing phase after hiring a design company.

Everyone wants to dump off a concept to the professionals and let them handle it all. If you’re having your car washed, then nothing is really needed from you. For design briefs, you need to be more involved. Website design and graphic design are two fields where getting yourself involved is essential to the ideal design for you and your organization.

When you first meet with a website and graphic design agency, you should provide them with your estimations and goals. This gives the company something of a starting point. This doesn’t mean you are done. No one is a mind reader. In order to be certain you get the most optimal design possible, you must take the creative briefing stage extremely.

This is the stage of the assignment where you work one on one with the designers to ensure they fully understand what you desire. The more they understand, the quicker they can deliver the finished project. It also reduces the number of initial design changes.

The next step before the designer can work on your project is proofing your design. You should never just quickly glimpse the design and give your approval. Look over the design plans as thoroughly as you would any important document. If the design isn’t exactly as you envisioned it and doesn’t provide the features you discussed, now is the time to make changes.

Waiting until the final project is delivered means time consuming revisions for both you and the designer. By involving yourself in both the creative briefing and design proofing stages, you save both time and money. You also get the perfect website or graphic design the first time around. The sooner your project is in place, the sooner your customers and visitors will see it.

You should never take this responsibility lightly. It’s your design, your website. Take the time to ensure the design company you choose fully understands your vision. By communicating your needs, the company is able to provide suggestions. With thorough communication between both parties, the best designs and sites are created.

For graphic design Brisbane or logo design Brisbane visit The Creative Noise. The Creative Noise is also a website designer. Brisbane is where their head office is located.

As a popular and growing area, there are many new residents living in the Mackay region who need a Mackay lawyer*, solicitor or law firm for the first time. Choosing a law firm to do the conveyancing to help you purchase a home or building, to give advice about starting a business or to prepare legal documents like wills or enduring powers-of-attorney, can be a intimidating and stressful process.

When you are trying to choose a Mackay solicitor, lawyer or law firm you ought to consider looking for the following characteristics:

Happy customers
For most people it is almost impossible to compare the quality of legal services provided by one Mackay solicitor/lawyer or another. Unless you are a regular user of a similar kind of legal service you can’t really compare various law firms. But you can look for a Mackay solicitor who is proud of their past performance with generous use of references from previous clients. If they offer plenty of testimonials it tells you two things. First, that they have a lot of happy clients and secondly, that they take the time and go to the trouble to discover what clients think of their service. They understand that they are a service-oriented business.

Local Knowledge
Your Mackay solicitor or lawyer ought to have good local knowledge and experience in assisting others in the town. Find out if the firm has worked on local developments or firms with established conveyancing sections that will have built up a valuable source of “inside knowledge” about the property market, local agents and banks that can make a big difference to the ease and efficiency of your transaction.

Breadth of services
While most people only need a lawyer rarely, it is wise to find a Mackay lawyer, solicitor or law firm that can provide a full range of services without having to find alternate law firms. Finding a firm that can assist with your conveyancing, estate planning, disputes, business services and even workplace or employment issues, means you can stick with one firm to meet all your legal needs. Law firms value clients who use a range of services, and are often able to provide those services more cheaply and efficiently if they have done other work for you in the past.

*In Queensland a person with legal qualifications was traditionally referred to as a solicitor while a person who “had standing” to represent you in court was called a barrister. More recently the general term lawyer has become more widespread and can be used to describe either of these types of legal practitioner. In some other states of Australia the conveyancing process (the legal process required to transfer ownership of house) can be undertaken by licenced conveyancers. This is not the case in Queensland where conveyancing must be undertaken by a solicitor/lawyer.

John Gray is a practising solicitor and marketing consultant who has worked with leading Mackay law firms. If you need a Mackay solicitor or Mackay lawyer contact John Gray for a recommendation.

If you really want to look deeply at why the two of you have the unique relationship and problems that you have, look no further than the Enneagram.

One of the most helpful ways to examine yourself and just as importantly, how you contribute to your relationship challenges, is to look at your Enneagram profile.

The modern Enneagram is based on ancient Eastern wisdom combined with modern Psychological thought. There are 9 personality types each with different modes of thinking, feeling and acting. Each style has its own natural gifts, faults, and blind spots.

When you know your Enneagram number, you can then be aware of the unconscious assumptions that drive the way you see yourself, do your work, and relate in your relationships.

And you can also understand why your partner seems to act in the strange, selfish, intrusive, self-interested, seductive or charming ways that he or she does.

Once you know how he or she see things from the inside out, you can see why they do the things they do which makes perfect sense to them.

There are no types that are better than any other. Each is effective in their own way, but from a very different point of view.

• Ones want to make things right.
• Twos need to be of help.
• Threes are driven to succeed.
• Fours have a deep desire to be special.
• Fives want to be left alone to think.
• Sixes seek safety and support.
• Sevens are connoisseurs of life’s pleasures.
• Eights are driven to dominate others.
• Nines don’t want to make waves.

For more information on how your and your partner’s Enneagram types interact, call us at the Hart Centre. We are a group of Psychologists around Australia who are passionate about relationships and specialise in relationship counselling.

With 15 relationship counselling centres in Sydney, and 12 relationship counselling centres in Melbourne, you will more than likely find one near you. Phone 1300830552 for more details.

Remember, for relationship counselling Sydney or relationship counselling Melbourne contact the Hart Centre.

Right on Brisbane’s eastern doorstep, North Stradbroke Island (”Straddie” to the familiar) is another of Australia’s east coast natural treasures and a perfect escape destination. Somehow, the secret has been well kept and it is only recently that Stradbroke Island has begun to show up on the tourism and property radar.

To travel to Straddie by way of the Brisbane suburb of Cleveland takes approximately 50 minutes on the vehicle ferry. Cleveland is a thirty minute drive from Brisbane International Airport or the centre of Brisbane, and an drive from the Gold Coast. The boat ride across Moreton Bay is the first step that makes visiting Stradbroke Island such a fabulous destination.

Stradbroke Island covers 27,530 hectares, which means it is the world’s second largest sand island. The elongated sand island shields much of the southern part of Moreton Bay and the smaller islands from the ocean swells. It’s beaches are accessible by four-wheel drive, bicycle or tramping, with numerous popular camping sites dotted down Main Beach, and beautiful views are visible from almost everywhere on Straddie.

Thirty-five kilometres of white sandy beaches fringe the island’s eastern side, from Point Lookout in the north to Jumpin Pin in the south. From the Point lookout headland, the buildings of the Gold Coast can be clearly visible, being a reminder of the contrast to the more relaxed lifestyle of Straddie.

North Stradbroke (Minjerriba to the indigenous Noonuccal people) was the home of celebrated Aboriginal poet Kath Walker, or Oodgeroo Noonuccal. There is much Aboriginal and European history in the area of Dunwich where water taxis and barges berth.

The waters of Moreton Bay lap against the shores of the island’s western fishing towns. With a lack of agriculture and the filtering effects of the sand provides pure water that sea-life, and particularly Stradbroke Rock Oysters thrive in.

North Stradbroke attracts four-wheel drivers, anglers, surfies and beach-lovers to its wide lengths of sandy coast and rugged granite headlands, and the Island offers a range of accommodation, restaurants, cafes and holiday infrastructure. With a diversity of experiences available and stunningly beautiful spots to discover, North Stradbroke is a fabulous holiday destination for families, couples and adventure-seekers alike. The ideal way to see the Island is by Four Wheel Drive, but there are many stunning coastal walks and a mountain bike and whale watching map are an easier and more environmentally sound alternative.

Point Lookout is the main destination, and only a thirty kilometre drive on a sealed road from Dunwich. The North Gorge Headland is 40m above sea level and recognised as a leading land-based whale watching site in between May and November, and world-class surfing and fishing throughout the year.

Point Lookout’s beautiful beaches and headlands are perfect for swimming, surfing and fishing year round. Whales, dolphins, turtles and manta rays can often be spotted from the spectacular North Gorge at the northern tip of the island. The island is listed as one of the world’s most ecologically important wetlands and has several freshwater lakes, waterways and lagoons that are accessible by four-wheel drive or on a guided tour with one of Straddie’s tour operators.

One of the great experiences of the island is the fresh seafood available direct from local fishermen. Look for the signs at Amity Point and Point Lookout which direct you to their homes and the freshest, most delicious catch-of-the-day around. For those that would rather the work be done for them, Straddie’s restaurants and cafes all make use of this wonderful island resource on the menu.

“The Point” offers several alfresco style cafes, a bakery, chemist, post office, newsagent, corner store and supermarket. The island also has a bus service linking all 3 towns to the ferries and water taxis.

North Stradbroke Island is the ultimate paradise for the many enthusiasts who visit each year. On a good day it’s possible to surf right past the pub, along the evocatively named Cylinders Beach, on waves that peel dreamily for hundreds of metres. Stick ten bucks in the back pocket of your boardies and you can drop in for a beer on your way back around -you may even bump into world ranked surfer and local Bede Durbidge! Stradbroke also boasts what is perhaps the last truly old-school surf shop in the country, that focusses on selling surf equipment rather than fashion.

The jewels in Stradbroke’s crown is Point Lookout and the natural wonder of the North Gorge Walk, along with the surf, the choice of beaches, all sheltered in differing winds, the whale watching, and the spectacular coastal walk around the gorges. If you are looking for Stradbroke Island Accommodation, make sure you visit: http://www.discoverstradbroke.com.au/

Situated on Brisbane’s eastern coast, North Stradbroke Island (’Straddie’ to the initiated) is one of Australia’s east coast natural treasures and a perfect escape destination. Somehow, the secret has been well kept and it is only recently that Stradbroke Island has started to sparkle on the tourist and real-estate radar.

To travel to Stradbroke Island by way of the township of Cleveland will take about fifty minutes on the vehicle ferry. Cleveland is a 30 minute drive from Brisbane International Airport and Brisbane central, and one hour’s drive from the Gold Coast. The boat ride across Moreton Bay is the first of a series of experiences that make Stradbroke Island such a wonderful destination.

Stradbroke Island covers 27,530 hectares, making it the world’s second largest sand island. The elongated sand island shields much of the southern part of Moreton Bay and the smaller islands from the ocean swells. The beaches are able to be accessed by four-wheel drive, bicycle or on foot, with numerous popular camp sites located all the way down Main Beach, and fabulous views are visible from almost everywhere on the island.

Thirty-five kilometres of white sandy beaches fringe the island’s eastern side, from Point Lookout at the north to Jumpin Pin in the south. From the Point lookout headland, the towering jungle of the Gold Coast is often clearly visible, being a reminder of the stark contrast to the more relaxed lifestyle of Straddie.

North Stradbroke (or Minjerriba to the indigenous Noonuccal people) was the home of famous Aboriginal poet Kath Walker, or Oodgeroo Noonuccal. There is much Aboriginal and European history in the area of Dunwich where water taxis and vehicular barges moor.

The waters of Moreton Bay ripple against the shores of the island’s western fishing towns. The lack of agriculture and the filtering effects of the sand provides clean water that fish, and particularly Stradbroke Rock Oysters thrive upon.

North Stradbroke attracts four-wheel drivers, anglers, surfies and beach-lovers to the wide stretches of sandy coast and rugged granite headlands, and the Island also offers a good range of accommodation, restaurants, cafes and holiday attractions. With a wonderful diversity of attractions on offer and stunningly beautiful places to explore, North Stradbroke is a popular holiday location for families, couples and adventure-seekers alike. The ideal way to see the Island is by Four Wheel Drive, but there are many stunning coastal walks and a mountain bike and whale watching map are an easier and more environmentally sound alternative.

Point Lookout is the main destination, and only a 30km drive on a sealed road from Dunwich. The North Gorge Headland is forty metres above sea level and recognised as a leading land-based whale-watch area throughout between May and November, and world-class surfing and fishing throughout the year.

Point Lookout’s beautiful beaches and headlands are safe for swimming, surfing and fishing year round. Whales, dolphins, turtles and manta rays are regularly spotted from the spectacular North Gorge at the northern tip of the island. The island is listed as one of the world’s most ecologically important wetlands with several freshwater lakes, waterways and lagoons that are accessible by 4WD or on a tour with one of Straddie’s tour operators.

One of the great experiences of the island is the fresh seafood available direct from local fishermen. Look for the signs at Amity Point and Point Lookout which will direct you to their homes and the freshest catch-of-the-day around. For those that would rather the work be done for them, Straddie’s restaurants and cafes all make use of this delicious island resource in their menus.

“The Point” offers several alfresco style cafes, a bakery, chemist, post office, newsagent, corner store and supermarket. The island also has its own bus service which links the three towns to ferries and water taxis.

North Stradbroke Island is the ultimate paradise for the many enthusiasts who visit each year. On a good day it’s possible to surf right past the pub, along the evocatively named Cylinders Beach, on waves that peel dreamily for hundreds of metres. Stick ten bucks in the back pocket of your boardies and drop in for a beer on your way back around -you may even bump into world ranked surfer and local Bede Durbidge! Straddie boasts what is perhaps the last truly old-school surf shop in the country, that focusses on selling surfing equipment rather than fashion.

The jewels in the Straddie’s crown is Point Lookout and the natural wonder of the North Gorge Walk, along with the surf, the choice of beaches, all sheltered in different winds, the whale watching, and the spectacular coastal walk around the gorges. If you are looking for Stradbroke Island Accommodation, make sure you visit: http://www.discoverstradbroke.com.au/