South Stradbroke Island off the Gold Coast, is less accessible than Minjerribah / North Stradbroke Island ("Straddie"). However, there is a ferry that can take you there if you don't have your own boat, and it lands at an island resort - Couran Cove.

Cruising along the Broadwater to Couran Cove
Ferries to Couran Cove leave from the marina at Mariner's Cove on the Gold Coast. From there the ferry travels north along the Broadwater until it reaches the resort. We were fortunate enough to see dolphins on the trip up. Turtles and dugongs are also always present along the Broadwater. More information on Ferry times is available
here.

Ferry to Couran Cove
When we visited Couran Cove we weren't sure what to expect and went for a day trip. It was fantastic, and we were pleased to see that they also offer a wide variety of accommodation that we intend to try in the future. More information on the resort's accommodation options can be found at this
link

Beautiful Couran Cove Resort
Whether visiting for a day, or staying for longer, Couran Cove has a large range of activities. On our trip there was no extra cost for many of them. We went in early Spring, when it was still cool early in the morning, so started the kids off in the Virtual Reality World Experience gaming room.

Virtual Reality gaming at Couran Cove
We then took a walk along the Alcheringa Trail. South Stradbroke Island used to be an important meeting place for the Komumerri and Noonuccal Tribes. The Alcheringa Trail includes information on Aboriginal spiritual connections to South Stradbroke Island and provided paths, viewing platforms, and boardwalks through a beautiful area of rainforest.

The Alcheringa Trail at Couran Cove
After our walk, everyone was hot and ready for a swim. Although Couran Cove has multiple swimming pools, including shallow ones that are ideal for kids, we chose to head down to the kayaks and stand up paddleboards. Again, this was all included in our day trip ticket, and worth asking about when booking. Our kids particularly loved the trampoline platform in the middle of the lagoon.

Having fun in the water at Couran Cove resort
After all of that activity, everyone was famished. We headed over to the restaurant near the pool and even our teenage son was not disappointed.

Lunch at Couran Cove
Wallabies in the resort were fairly tame, and this little one visiting the pool while we had lunch made everyone smile.

Wallaby visiting the pool area at Couran Cove
If it seems from this article like there's too much to do in a day trip, you are right. We had one more thing we were determined to do, and that was catch one of the little buggy "buses" over to the surf side of the island.

Boardwalk to the surf beach on South Stradbroke Island
Upon leaving Couran Cove to enjoy another trip down along the Broadwater, we resolved to come back and stay for longer. Probably the only thing that really surprised about this island resort so close to Brisbane and the Gold Coast was that there weren't more people, which the facilities could easily have handled. This
link has a full list of activities and prices.

Surf Beach at Couran Cove on South Stradbroke Island
In all, we found our visit to Couran Cove to be a busy, active, and very enjoyable one. If you haven't visited this island resort yet, perhaps now is the time.