Country/Town visited: Moreton Island, Queensland
Date of stay: April 2012
Travelled with: Wife & friends
Tour or pre planned: Tour – Xtream day tour (Moreton Island Adventures)
Moreton Island is a sand island without any sealed roads, located 40km from Brisbane city. During World War 1 and 2 the island was used for major coastal defense bases and the remains of the old military fortifications can still be seen, nowadays the island is a national park and recreation area.
The island offers something for everyone and during our visit we decided to do the Xtream day tour, booked throughMoreton Island Adventures. The tour included return ferry crossing, guided snorkel of the ship wrecks, sand boarding, four-wheel driving and lunch.
Getting to the island takes an hour and a half by ferry from the Port of Brisbane. You can pick up the tour in Brisbane city or transfers from the Gold or Sunshine Coast. We caught the Micat ferry which was pretty good, there’s a cafe on board (the pies were amazing), comfortable seating and it can hold 400 passengers and 50 vehicles. There are a number of privately run ferry services to Moreton Island, I’d suggest doing your research and check prices. Click on the following link to see the Micat Ferry prices.
Snorkelling around the ship wrecks at Tangalooma point was pretty awesome. In the bay 15 ships were deliberately sunk to form a breakwall for small boats and a wreck dive and snorkel site. You can dive in depths from 2-10m around the sunken ships and we saw wobbegongs, stingrays, yellowtail, turtles and lots of other tropical fish. You can snorkel and enjoy the wrecks without paying for the tour but doing the tour has some advantages which I’ve listed.
Sand Boarding is pretty much as you would expect, sliding down the sand dune hills lying on a board. This takes place in The Desert area of the Island and some of the sand hills can be up to 90m high. (see the video footage below)
The tour also included lunch, a basic salad, some ham, a roll and fruit.
Overall we really enjoyed the Xtream day tour and Brett (aka princess) our guide was informative and helpful. If you’d like to spend longer on the island, check out Tangalooma Resort and the Island has a number of camping sites but permits are required. Click on the following link for more information about Moreton Island.
Four Wheel Drive Vehicles:
A lot of visitors bring over four wheel drive vehicles to explore the sandy beaches, if you’re a foot passenger beware of the 4wd’s, try not to stand in the middle of a beach where the vehicles pass. Some of the sand roads are quite narrow, almost impossible for cars to pass and keep to the speed limits. Please note that if you are camping, you can’t get around the island without your own car. You will need a four wheel drive with ground clearance as the sand and mud tracks can get pretty deep wheel grooves (you can see what we mean in the video). We did see an AWD Outlander but our guide said that it’s not recommended.
Points to highlight:
Moreton Island is committed to protecting the environment, remember to take rubbish home with you and don’t use soap or detergents in the water ways. Remember to pack sunglasses, sunscreen, towels, hats, insect repellent, drinking water & snacks. You can buy some of these from the café on board the Micat ferry.
Originally posted at oetravelblogs.com
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