Photo of the Week: A Picnic at Brown Lake

The interesting colours of Brown Lake on North Stradbroke Island.

I’ve written briefly before about how North Stradbroke Island is one of my favourite places near Brisbane — and it’s one that many tourists never make it to, despite everything it has to offer. While not as popular as Fraser Island to the north, it’s a great island getaway with many of the same opportunities that Fraser has to offer.

On Fraser, your only swimming options are in the lakes and other fresh bodies of water due to the large tiger sharks that roam the waters along 75 Mile Beach. While Straddie has a number of patrolled beaches where you can surf alongside dolphins, sometimes there are days where fresh water seems more appealing — such as Saturday, when there were massive pods of bluebottle jellyfish coming to shore and the occasional 2m shark being chased away from the beach. I still went for a swim in the ocean — without getting stung or eaten — but I was also happy to make the trip inland to Brown Lake. This lake, lined with tea trees that turn the water into an inky, coffee brown in the center and a lighter tea colour towards the shore, is the perfect spot for an afternoon picnic and swim. We had shade, friends, and a giant bag of prawns — what more could we ask for?

The other cool thing about this photo? It was done completely on my iPhone. Not perfect, but a lot less work than manually stitching photos too!

About Kristin
I'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
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