South Stradbroke Island has three amazing campgrounds run by Gold Coast Tourist Parks - South Currigee Campground, North Currigee Campground, and Tipplers Campground. Each campground offers spectacular waterfront campsites overlooking the prestine Gold Coast Broadwater. Get up close to the native fauna of wallabies, goannas, and kookaburras for an unfortgettable family camping experience! The surf beach is only a 10 to 20 minute stroll across the island, with fantastic beach fishing opportunities for those keen to fish for tailor, dart, mulloway, whiting and flathead. Beach worms and pipis are easily caught along the surf’s edge for an endless supply of fresh bait. Please note there are no lifeguards or flagged areas on the surf side of the island, so great care should be taken if swimming in the surf. Campsite bookings can be made online via the Gold Coast Tourist Parks website, or by telephoning 07 5577 2849 for Tipplers Campground, or telephoning 07 5577 3932 for North and South Currigee Campgrounds. Click here for a map showing the location of each campground on the island, including walking trails. Campsites start from $33 per night.

Located 3.5 nautical miles south from the Paradise Point boat ramp, South Currigee (Roes Kamp) on South Stradbroke Island offers camping inside a pristine national park. The facilities include hot showers, toilets, gas BBQs, undercover picnic area, kiosk, and a playground for the kids. Access to the gas barbeques for day trippers incurs a small fee payable to the onsite national park rangers. Small campfires are permitted inside each campsite. No dogs are allowed. Unpowered sites, canvas huts, a large cabin, and five camping shacks are available. For bookings, phone 07 5577 3932. A short stroll across the narrowest part of South Stradbroke Island will bring you to a magnificent secluded sandy surf beach offering fantastic fishing in permanent gutters all along the island. The kiosk sells all the basic camping essentials including firewood, ice, drinking water, insect repellent, milk, and icecreams. Runaway Bay Shopping Village is only a short boat trip across the broadwater to access all the major supermarkets. A pontoon is available at the shopping centre to tie up to whilst you do your shopping. Marina Fuels & Tackle at Runaway Bay Marina is also only a short boat ride away should you require extra fuel for your vessel, a gas bottle, or fishing tackle and bait. When anchoring your vessel at South Currigee campground, it is extremely important to always anchor your vessel with the bow of the vessel pointing out from the shoreline, with a stern rope attached to the mooring poles provided on the shoreline. Large wake from passing vessels often swamp vessels incorrectly moored, and can cause damage to your vessel and/or personal injury. Vessels should always be anchored an absolute minimum of three metres from shore at all times - adjustments to your anchor lines may be necessary throughout the cycle of the tide to maintain a three metre separation from shore.

Shown above is a map of the camp sites available at South Currigee Campground. Gold Coast Boat Hire’s top tip for the best campsite is site #11.

Located 2.5 nautical miles south from the Paradise Point boat ramp, North Currigee Campground lies on a small inlet on South Stradbroke Island which offers a very safe anchorage for small craft. The facilities include hot showers, toilets, undercover picnic area, and a floating pontoon which may be used for loading and unloading of camp gear and passengers. Please note there are no gas BBQs provided at North Currigee, although you can certainly bring your own BBQ or campstove. Small campfires are permitted inside each campsite. No dogs are allowed. Unpowered sites are only available. For bookings, phone 07 5577 3932. Supplies such as firewood, ice, drinking water, and icecreams are delivered direct to your campsite by the ranger at South Currigee campground. Runaway Bay Shopping Village and Runaway Bay Marina are only a short boat ride away for any other supplies you may require. A 15 to 20 minute stroll will bring you to the surf beach from this location for great beach fishing. When camping during the summer months, it is recommended to bring a pair of thongs or sandshoes for the walk across the island, as the sandy track can get very hot underfoot. Special caution should be taken when approaching North Currigee campground by boat - there is a large rocky reef marked by a yellow buoy immediately to the north of the northern breakwall of the inlet. This rocky outcrop is fully covered by water and impossible to see except for at low tide - do not approach the yellow buoy within 30 metres at any time of the tide. When anchoring your vessel at North Currigee campground, it is highly recommended to anchor inside the inlet (even if you are staying in campsites #1 to #7) otherwise your vessel will become stranded at low tide, and your vessel may be swamped by large wake from large vessels passing by.

Shown above is a map of the camp sites available at North Currigee Campground. Gold Coast Boat Hire’s top tip for the best campsites are sites #8, #9, and #10. Campsites #1 to #5 are unprotected from strong winds due to their elevation. The best times to camp here are during the half moon phases where the height of the low tide is higher than normal - during the full moon and new moon phases the low tide height is very low and the muddy seabed of the inlet can become exposed. Campsites #11, #12, and #13 are also great campsites as they are protected from most wind directions, are close to the toilets and showers, however your vessel may become beached at low tide during the full and new moon phases.

Located 5 nautical miles north of the Paradise Point boat ramp, Tipplers Campground is South Stradbroke Island's largest campground and is situated on the tranquil waterway of Tipplers Passage which offers a very safe anchorage for vessels of all sizes. Being inside a 6 knot zone, vessel wake from large vessels is never a problem. The facilities include hot showers, toilets, gas BBQs, undercover picnic areas, swimming enclosure, playground for the kids, and a floating pontoon which may be used for loading and unloading of camp gear and passengers. Small campfires are permitted inside each campsite. No dogs are allowed. Upclose encounters with native fauna including wallabies, bandicoots, goannas, and kookaburras are a daily occurrence. Tipplers Campground has several unpowered sites and six camping shacks available. For campsite bookings, phone 07 5577 2849, or book online at Gold Coast Tourist Parks. A kiosk is located next to Tipplers Licensed Cafe just a couple hundred metres north of the campground, for all your basic camping needs, including firewood, ice, drinking water, and icecreams. Tipplers Licensed Cafe is open 7 days a week and is a great place to relax whilst having a delicious meal for very reasonable prices. Tipplers Licensed Cafe phone number is 07 5577 3025. Tippler's Passage provides good catches of whiting and sand crabs / blue swimmers. Mud crabs are easily found around the Never Fail Islands too. The surf beach is a 20 minute walk across the island, sandshoes or thongs are recommended for the walk. The closest place to buy fuel is Runaway Bay Marina, and the next closest is Horizon Shores Marina. The closest major shopping centre is Runaway Bay Shopping Village, and there are also several shops for provisions located at Jacobs Well.

Shown above is a map of the camp sites available at Tipplers Campground. Gold Coast Boat Hire’s top tip for the best campsites are sites #8 through to #14, although any of the waterfront sites are amazing!

Listed below are two checklists for camping - the first is a minimalistic camping checklist for a single night stay with just the basics, and the second is for those to wish to stay for several nights with some creature comforts!

• Swag • Sleeping bag, pillow • Torch or lantern • Insect repellent, mosquito coils, sunburn cream, hat, sunglasses • Firewood, lighter • Bottled drinking water • Canned food with ringpulls (baked beans, spaghetti, braised steak and onions, etc), metal fork. • Fist aid kit (bandages, band aids, saline liquid, antiseptic cream)

• Tent, tent poles, guide ropes, sand pegs, hammer or mallet • Tarpaulin or gazebo, ropes, sand pegs • Ground sheet or picnic blanket • Sleeping bag, pillow • Air mattress, foot pump • Dustpan and brush • Torch or lantern, LED strip lighting and battery. • Insect repellent, mosquito coils, sunburn cream, hat, sunglasses • Fist aid kit (bandages, band aids, saline liquid, antiseptic cream) • Firewood, fire lighters, lighter • Camp chairs, camp table • Thongs, sand shoes • Bottled drinking water • Fully charged mobile phone, phone charging cable, powerbank • Bluetooth speaker or radio • Esky, ice, drinks, stubby cooler • Waterproof jacket, tracksuit, beanie, shirts, shorts, socks, underwear, swimwear • Toiletries • Toilet paper • Cooking utensils - frypan, camping billy or saucepan and lid, spatula, tongs, kitchen knife, chopping board, knives, forks, spoons, disposable plates, bowls, cups, coffee mug, camp toasting grill, jaffle iron. • Butane camp stove and spare butane gas • Paper towels, alfoil • Detergent, chux, scourers, washing brush, wash tub or bucket. • Tea, coffee, UHT milk, condensed milk, sugar • Marshmallows • Salt and pepper • Cooking oil or butter • Tomato sauce, BBQ sauce • Rubbish bags • Canned food with ringpulls (baked beans, spaghetti, braised steak and onions, etc), metal fork. • 2 minute noodles, cup-a-soup • Breakfast cereal • Eggs, bacon, sausages, steak, tomatoes, onion, bread • Beach towels • Fishing rods, tackle, bait, PVC rod holders, crab pots