Moreton Island - Queensland, Australia - 2004

Moreton Bay consists of a 100km expanse of water and is sheltered by a band of long sand islands. The eastern beaches of these islands, Bribie, Moreton, North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke are pounded by the Pacific Ocean and it is said that there are 365 sheltered islands in the bay.

We took our 4WD Pajero and visiting Uncle and Aunt from England on a 40km trip on the vehicular ferry the 'Combie Trader' departing from Scarborough Point on the mainland. The ferry crossing over Moreton Bay took about 2 hours until we drove off onto the beach at Bulwer. We had booked to stay in a room above the local shops. This was a good find, it could sleep 10 people and was very reasonably priced, plus the local store and bottle shop were downstairs and you were only about a 100m walk back to the beach. Bulwer is the site of a 19th century pilot station for ships entering Moreton Bay and was established in 1848 and closed in 1909. Now there are only some holiday homes, a general store, fishing supply shop and a petrol bowser. There are three scuttled boats from 1930 which were used to form a small boat harbour now lying on the beach.



Moreton Island is a large sand island noted for the height of its hills. Mount Tempest is said to the highest permanent sand mountain in the world at approximately 273 m. The 17,000 hectare island itself is 94% protected National Park and is surrounded by the waters of the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

Moreton Island was for thousands of years home to the "Ngugi" Aboriginal people. Captain Cook passed through the bay 1770 on the Endeavour and Matthew Flinders entered Moreton Bay in 1799 exploring southwards to the bay islands.

There are heaps of walking tracks to explore the sandhills and beaches, some are around 8-9km long. Camping is very popular and permits must be acquired from barge operators or rangers before a visit.

Tangalooma is the island's main settlement, where there is a resort transformed from the old whaling station that operated from 1951 until 1962, an artificial reef 'the Wrecks' made from 15 scuttled barges is great for snorkelling and viewing fish. The beach directly in front of the resort is purely for guests only - no 4wd and no pedestrian traffic. The Resort allows groups to hand feed dolphins (at a cost of course). This is a very popular resort for day trippers and weekenders because of its close proximity to Brisbane.

Blue Lagoon lake is the largest freshwater lake on the Island. The water is refreshed by rainwater filtered by the surrounding dunes. The sand here is white as white and pure.

You can purchase a permit for 4 wheel drive and off road access on the island as there are no sealed roads.

The inland 'highway', a 7km sandy track which winds up to camping grounds at Eagers Creek. You can head to Cape Moreton or Reeders Point.

Birds like honeyeaters, quails, kites, sea-eagles, pelicans are found here. Bandicoots are the largest marsupial found on the island, there are no kangaroos, wallabies or koalas. The island's waters are ideal for spotting marine life such as dugongs, dolphins, manta rays and turtles and Cape Moreton is a perfect spot to whale watch during the humpback migrations during June through to November as it rises 100m above sea level and offers views south to Stradbroke Island, west to Bribie Island and the Glass House Mountains and north and east across the Pacific Ocean. Cape Moreton also boasts Queensland's 1st Lighthouse, a 23m tower built in 1857 by prisoners out of local sandstone, but the actual lighthouse is closed to the public.