Moreton Island, home to Tangalooma Island Resort is definitely a “bucket list” location. Whether you’re visiting south east Queensland, or live in Brisbane, book a day, or a week, and head over on a large catamaran. The journey only takes 75 minutes and the trip across Moreton Bay is a highlight in itself.
Tangalooma Express – bringing visitors to Tangalooma, Moreton Island.
Known as nature’s theme park where amazing natural encounters are just part of the everyday experience. With heaps of tours and activities on offer, Tangalooma lives up to it’s claim as the jewel of Moreton Island. You can go on a Quad Bike Tour, enjoy a Marine Discovery Cruise, head out on the Desert Safari tour plus so much more. The star attraction at the Resort is the unique hand feeding a pod of wild bottlenose dolphins!
Arriving like clockwork for dinner!
We’ve been visiting Tangalooma for many years and on our last visit discovered the new Southern Safari tour. So, on arrival at the Island we headed straight to the Tangalooma Tours Desk and booked the six-hour adventure in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Our driver introduced himself as Ali Baba (!) who was an absolute legend with information on Moreton Island fauna, flora and aboriginal history. He was a laugh a minute as well!
At the end of six hours, with 14 other intrepid visitors, we had circumnavigated the southern half of Moreton Island and driven through the centre – this left us feeling like Matthew Flinders must have in 1799.
Table of Contents
First Stop – Abandoned Steamer Shipwrecks.
Driving along the pristine white sand with the waters of Moreton Bay lapping the tyres was really something special. We’d previously ridden up the beach for a couple of kms on fat tyre bicycles, but that was hard work!
First stop for the day were shipwrecks of the Fairlight and Normandy steamboats. These aren’t the wrecks that you can snorkel – they are in a southerly direction from Tangalooma.
Steamboat Shipwrecks on the western side of Moreton Island.
Big Sand Hill
View from the Big Sand Hill, Moreton Island.
Next up was the Big Sand Hill to climb for a bird’s eye view of Moreton Bay and a kaleidoscope of colours in the water.
Mind you, getting up the hill was tougher than expected – well for oldies anyway! The sand was so dry and fine that sometimes you sank up to your knees, and then when you did manage a step forward you went backwards two steps! The trick is to follow in someone else’s steps and when you turn around kind of ski down.
At the top of the hill there is a large old Banksia tree all on its lonesome – nothing else around it, just the tree. Not sure how it lives on a mountain of sand, but it does!
Old Banksia Tree at Big Sand Hill, Moreton Island.
Being so high up we could look down into the shallows where we saw a Wobbegong shark being given the hurry up by a flock of seagulls! Along the shore’s edge were Curlews, and Spoonbill Ibis and a local sea eagle flew over but decided we were too big to carry off for dinner!
Back at the bottom we quickly made light work of the delicious Danish pastries on offer at the truck, along with coffee, tea and cold drinks.
From the Big Sand Hill we travelled through kilometres of mangroves (Crocodile Dundee style) on to the remote township of Kooringal – population approximately 300. This was to be our lunch venue, but first we headed to the South Passage between North Stradbroke and Moreton Island. This is a treacherous area of water due to a combination of strong winds, moving sandbars and varying tides. Sadly these conditions resulted in many sailing ships being wrecked in days gone by.
Lunch at the Gutter Bar – Kooringal Township
The famous Gutter Bar, Kooringal, Moreton Island
Back at the famous Gutter Bar we had seafood platters to die for.
The local trawlers provide the fresh (huge) prawns from Moreton Bay and the rock oysters were from the oyster farm around the corner. I will forever be saying – these were the best oysters I have ever eaten, or at least equal to the Coffin Bay oysters we have enjoyed in South Australia!
Seafood platter at the Gutter Bar.
Now to clarify – The Gutter Bar takes its name from “Day’s Gutter” and has a nautical setting that makes you think you’re in the Caribbean, and here was me thinking that we’d have to sit in the “gutter” to have a drink and eat lunch!
Fishing Time at Day’s Gutter – Kooringal, Moreton Island.
Mirapool Lagoon
Mirapool Lagoon – a jewel of Moreton Island.
Mirapool Lagoon – on the eastern beach of Moreton Island – is a hidden sanctuary with beautiful views, calm swimming waters and plenty of wildlife.
We watched hundreds of soldier crabs scurrying in and out of holes – how they ever know which one is their home beats me – along with many of resident sea gulls, pelicans, mantra rays and fish.
Pelicans at Mirapool Lagoon
Cut off from the ocean by a long sandy bank, the lagoon is a unique combination of the underground natural fresh water and the oceans salt water which spills over with each high tide.
This combination of water makes it very easy to float in the lagoon!
Unfortunately our togs (bathers) hadn’t made it into the backpacks so no swimming for us – but those who did had a great time floating around like whales!
War Relics and Bunkers on Moreton Island
On the return trip up the east coast of Moreton Island, we saw the remains of army forts built for cannons to stop any invasion by Japanese boats during WW2. (Moreton Island was one of Australia’s major coastal defence bases during the war)
These defense systems included anti-aircraft emplacements, command and battery observation posts, underground rooms and accommodation for those offices and men involved. There was even a small hospital at Cowan Cowan.
While many of the remains have sunk in the sand, we saw some of the concrete fortifications giving us the chance to step back in time and reflect on the history of the island during World War II.
Gunnery and storage fort.
We learnt there were 3,000 army personnel on the island during this war. The poor soldiers were driven mad, not by the enemy, but by the insects that used to bite them mercilessly. Maybe Aerogard or Rid wasn’t invented way back then – having said that we have never been bitten at Tangalooma.
A popular family walk to relive the history of these war relics can be discovered on the Rous Battery walking track.
Heading Home to Tangalooma
After six hours of exploring it was time to turn the wheels of our trusty vehicle back to Tangalooma along the east coast. Here there was rough water because this side of Moreton Island is on the edge of the Pacific Ocean – meaning no crystal clear and calm water like the west coast.
A few times Ali (tour guide) had to wait for the waves to recede so our trusty vehicle could get safely along the remote beach. He had expertly driven through the water hundreds of times before, but it added an adrenaline punch to our day. In another couple of years, the story will have stretched so much I’ll be saying the ocean we drove through was up to our windows instead of half way up the wheels! (Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!)
Middle Road Across the Island
Homeward bound we headed across the Island on Middle Road. With Moreton Island being 98% National Park and the third largest sand island in the world there’s masses to learn about the environment and ecology. Driving through, we saw Mt Tempest, the highest point of the Island – a great climb for the fit people of the world!
Snoozing Baby Curlew
(This baby Curlew wasn’t photographed on Middle Road, but outside out hotel room at Tangalooma. He/she, used to have two snoozes a day, just like any other baby in the world – I felt the need to give him/her some star exposure!)
Tangalooma Resort.
Back to Tangalooma Island Resort with just enough time to enjoy a Happy Hour Drink at B&B’s Bar then on to see the resident Kookaburras fly in for their dinner.
Kookaburras waiting for their dinner!
After that there were so many choices – such as maybe enjoying a sunset cruise around the foreshore to the wrecks and still be back in time to watch the dolphins feeding…decisions, decisions! Only on Moreton Island!
Arriving like clock work for their 6 pm dinner! (photo credit Tangalooma Island Resort)
Magic Moreton Island is waiting for you!
Handy to Know
- Cost of the six-hour Southern Safari Tour is – $135 per adult and $90 for a child.
- This includes morning tea on the beach and lunch at the “Gutter Bar, Kooringal.
- Book on-line or at theTangalooma Tour Desk in the Reception Area of the Resort.
Be sure to take:
- Footwear – doesn’t have to be closed in.
- Sunscreen and a hat.
- Water – water is provided but not individual bottles.
- Pack your camera and sense of adventure!
- Togs (bathers) and towel if you want to swim at Mirapool Lagoon
Hi Joycee. Thanks for a great post. You know, we have been to Brisbane many times, but never to Moreton Island. We are planning another visit to Brisbane in the near future. Moreton Island is now right up there as one of the things on our bucket list of things to do. You convinced me right at the beginning mentioning “natures theme park”. We love nature, plus there is so much to see and do. Love your pics 🙂
Thank you Estelle, you are always very complimentary in your comments. Tangalooma, Moreton Island is definitely worth a visit, if only for a day. 🙂
Love those dolphins. This looks like a beautiful paradise to visit. I have no plans to visit Australia soon although I would love to do so sooner rather than later. And I have feeling this will definitely make it onto the list. Enjoyed reading this, Joycee, thank you so much for sharing.
Australia is definitely calling you Georgina 🙂 Especially the east coast that has, I believe, all the “must see and do” experiences, including the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane (close to Moreton Island), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia’s New York). Then of course you need to jump on a plane and fly to the centre of country to experience Uluru, the sacred massive sandstone monolith in the heart of the Northern Territory’s arid “Red Centre”. It’s only 550 million years old! Be warned – you can’t see much of this great country in two weeks – an extended holiday is needed! 🙂