2022 Swift Campout

A story of events from our Swift Campout 2022. An 8 person bike packing trip on Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah). The weekend was full of laughs, beers, hike-a-bikes (through sand!) and bonding with new amazing people.

North Stradbroke Island, Minjerribah or Straddie

Straddie is an island just an hour and a half travel time from Brisbane’s CBD. After a short 25min ride on the passenger you’ll arrive in Dunwich. There’s a few shops, pub and some nice beaches at Dunwich, but the main action is up at Point Lookout. Luckily for us bike packers, they’re many rideable bike and 4WD tracks that make travel on the island a little less dangerous and way more fun! Follow along our journey to see some really cool highlights that this amazing island has on offer.

All in the name of Swift Industries Campout

After some short discussion about a Swift Campout trip, we decided to make Stradbroke Island the location of choice for the 2022 Swift Campout.

After my final building IT systems university exam, I got dressed, grabbed my bike and headed off eager for adventure. First stop was Sealink at Cleveland where I boarded the passenger ferry. After a short 25min trip across to Straddie, I jumped off the ferry and rode down to the crew.

Although I already knew all the riders attending our Swift Campout trip, I was still yet to meet some face to face. This was a great bonding exercise and really kickstarted some new friendships.

Our adventure starts with a decent few pinches towards the first section of beach. We were all in such high spirits to jump onto the sand and ride along the beach. After a solid few K’s we hit our first stop at the lagoon. Perfect as a little cool off from the previous hills, we cracked open some beers and had a dip in the icy cold water!

The tough stretch

After a nice cool down at the lagoon, we continued our ride along the beach towards Point Lookout. We quickly ate up our original excitement and stoke for the sandy beach riding. Damn this was tough. The tide was coming in and it forced us to ride up higher in the softer sand. This slow slog riding, turned into a walking adventure.

By the time we had reached the end of the beach, the tide had practically pushed us into the soft sand, making it completely un-rideable. We were all ravenous and keen to get down to the pub before nightfall. So we pushed on and trudged our way to the boardwalk. What a relief it was to get there.

Rump, Jugs and Bowls club weddings

It was such a great feeling to roll into Minjerribah camping, set up camp and roll out on unloaded bikes. We all had food on our mind. Collectively, we made the decision to eat at the local bowls club. Upon arriving we walked into a wedding, later finding out that they were completely booked out! Damn, next plan. The pub! We rode our hungry bodies up the hill to the local Straddie pub up at point lookout. We had ordered a lot of food and had an ET of 45 minutes for our food. I wasn’t sure if I’d last.

After a long wait our mouth wateringly good steaks came out, piled high with mash and complemented well with a jug of 4 pines pale ale. There’s not much else to say here, other than the food was great!

The roll back down to camp was satisfying, we were all full and filled with anticipation for the adventures come dawn.

The morning after

After a solid 7 hour sleep in my emergency bivvy, I arose just after sunset and was very excited to see what the others were up-to. I waddled over to the beach where Kate was painting, and some brave soles had tried their luck in the water. I soon became jealous and joined them for a freezing cold swim.

We cleaned up, packed our bikes and rode ourselves up to Point Lookout for a feed at the bakery. The bacon and egg burger went down a treat.

Stradbroke Island Caves

We had heard talk about some pretty magnificient caves near Point Lookout. After a long walk down some pretty steep stairs, we guessed our way towards the caves. After wading through some deep water we turned a corner and the beautiful caves opened up to all their glory. It was truly magical.

Back to normal living

And that’s a wrap for the 2022 Swift Campout. I had a great time bike packing with some new faces. It was an amazing experience that I wont forget. 10/10 recommend Straddie for cycling or bike packing. Make sure you’re prepared with tide times!