Two 4x4s on the sand at Straddie..

01The plan, such as it was..

The plan fitted on the back of a servo receipt. Get the barge across on Friday arvo, find a spot on the sand, and do not get bogged in front of anyone we knew. Two out of three is not bad.

Beach driving on Straddie needs a vehicle access permit, so that got sorted online before anyone packed a thing. We checked the tide times the night before too. On the sand, the tide sets the timetable. You just get to pick the music.

02Across on the barge

There is a moment on the barge when everyone stops talking. The mainland slides away, the water turns from grey to green, and the 79 sits there ticking as it cools, looking very pleased with itself.

We rolled off with one job: air down at the first sensible spot, before the soft sand starts. Nobody wants to be the one letting tyres down in the deep stuff while a queue builds behind them.

03Sand, tyres and a bit of humility

The first stretch was firm and fast, the kind of beach that makes you think you have it all worked out. Then the track up off the beach turned to sugar. The 300 Series went first and made it look easy. The 200 Series followed its ruts. Drewsy's 79 decided to dig for treasure.

A bit more air out, a clear run-up and some tidy wheel work later, it was out, and nobody had touched a recovery board. The lesson is not new, but the sand teaches it better than any Guide: lower pressures, steady momentum, and no hard steering in the soft stuff.

04Camp under the trees

Camp went up behind the dunes, under coastal trees that took the edge off the wind. Rooftop tents earn their keep on a trip like this. Park, flip, ladder down, and you are set up before the esky lid is off.

Dinner was simple. Snags, onions, bread, and the surf doing its thing on the other side of the dune. Someone found a frisbee. Someone else lost it in the scrub within ten minutes.

Park, flip, ladder down. Camp was up before the esky lid was off.

05What we would do again (and what we would not)

Book the barge early. Air down before you need to, not after. Pack a second shovel, because the first one always ends up in someone else's hands. And leave a gap in the plan for the moment the light goes gold over the water and nobody wants to move.

What we would not do again: one night. The island has more tracks than we had time for, and next time we are staying long enough to drive them without watching the clock.