48 hours on Tnagalooma Island Resort

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My 48 hours on Tanglooma island resort started at 4:30 am in the morning , with an early raise I was pretty excited to get to Tangalooma a could not wait to start my adventure. Tangalooma Island Resort is only a miserly 75 minutes Passenger ferry transfer boat departing from Holt Street wharf Pinkenba Brisbane. This is the perfect way to get to Morten Island, with 4 services departing daily there is no excess not to visit this magical island. You must arrive 1 hour before departure and book your boarding passes and luggage there is a fully secure car pack to get your car there while you are over on the island.



This Resort is perfect for family’s looking for a quick and easy weekend away for the whole family or a young couple who are looking to escape the hassel and bussle of the big city. All you need for weekend escape is here and waiting for you from the handful of different activities on offer to the restaurants and bars, with just a hope skip and a swim away from the Brisbane city there is reasons you still haven’t visit Tanglooma Island Resort.







What do you need to bring for 48 hours on Tanglooma well it all depends of your style of travelling I would just pack my togs and a few nice beach dresses but, there is a few things that you must pack so you can enjoy your time at Tangalooma ; My top 7 must things to pack;



Hat and sunscreen is a must, no one like getting a nasty sunburn on their holiday always slip slop slap before heading out and about for the day.
Swimwear / beach towel and sunglasses
Pack for what you need; you have a limit if 20kg per and person and a carry of handbag or backpack. Even though this is an island resort wearing appropriate clothing is still necessary for dinner and lunch.
If you get sea sick the Boat ride over can sometimes be a bit rough so remember to take before you get on.
A sense of adventure this place is jam packed full of fun actives to do with family and as a couple.
Beach wear for 2 or 3 days depending on how long you are staying for, remembering there is a 20 kg bag limit.
Camera to snap all the epic shots, if you have a go pro highly recommended taking it to Tangalooma Island resort the place has some epic underwater and above land shots.



The weather for the two days we were there was perfect I think we were extremely lucky considering the days leading up to it was hailing and storming. Upon arrival we met with Hana for a meet and greet and a little tour of the island. Hana explain where the dolphin feeding will be and where to meet later on this evening, also where we will be staying tonight and when out rooms will be ready and when to come and get our rooms keys from, she also explained where we will need to meet for snorkeling and what time, we had some free time before snorkeling so we all headed to the café to grab a quick coffee which was needed as I have been up since 4:30am feeling a little tried right about now, the café facilities were very good and the coffee was very nice.



Our first activity for the day was snorkeling and I was super excited because I am a water baby and feel much more comfortable in the water then I do on land. The snorkeling tour began when we all met Sam, she was a snorkeling tour guide who works and lives on the island what an awesome job to have. Sam started with our names and whether or not we could swim and have snorkel before most of us have which was great, after that we got our wet suits and snorkel and fins and went over to the grass for a safety talk and a little chat about the marine life that we might see and to watch out for. They have 4 snorkeling tours departing daily and there are more than 200 species of tropical fish to see 15 shipwrecks to explore and heaps of marine life to discover, I have snorkel all over the world and this would have to be at the top for marine life and safety. This tour includes the tour guide, your wetsuit, snorkel and fins and this sort of feels like a private tour of the 15 shipwrecks the tour guide was able to point of marine life that I could of never of seen. You can also hire the equipment and do your own thing but, I would highly recommended the snorkeling tour was exceptional.



The highlight for me would have to be the snorkeling tour and the wild dolphin feeding me love both of these activity so much they both are extremely different but every professional and I felt safe at all times. The dolphin feeding was a major highlight for me because before we had the dolphin feeding we had a talk about how is all began and got started and the purpose behind the program. Before we got to meet the dolphin we had an inspirational talk at the Marine Educational Conservation Centre (TMECC ) this was created in 1994 and has been running successful ever snice this program gives visitors a chance to talk to the eco rangers and get more of a understanding about why this program is so important to the bottle nose dolphin survival. What I learnt from this talk is that this is sustainable feeding practice and these dolphins come and go when they please sometimes they may not be seen for a month, this surprise me I thought they would come every night for a feed. The Tangalooma only feeds each of the dolphins between 10% to 20% of their daily food requirement; this means the dolphins must still hunt for themselves daily in order to meet their food requirement. The talk was also about how us as humans are contributing to the decline in the dolphins from rubbish in the ocean to fishing line getting wrapped around the dolphins which has happen to a few of the regular dolphins at Tangalooma. We leant about how to tell them apart and how they are playful and very interactive animals, I won’t tell you too much you will have to see for yourself.



The services provided on this island Resort are without doubt a cut above the rest, I was surprise on the different types of international restaurants are available, you can even get your food take away and seat along the beautiful fore shore and soak up the beautiful view. The coffee lounge is the perfect spot have a coffee and enjoy the morning sun, we had our dinner and breakfast at the Tursiops Buffet, ii thought this was amazing for what you are paying for start at $25pp you can such a variety of food to choose from, I was very happy with the service over all we had great service, expect our lunch on the second day we had lunch at the Beach Café, we all order around the same time, some of us had other activity’s to get to the two lady’s I was with food came out late and was stone cold, the girls had to eat really fast a run. A wait staff came over and ask how our meals were I said my foods was great and then told her about the other two ladies were here before, she apologized when she and came back with 5 free ice-cream coupons.







I found this such a great way to deal with this situation because we weren’t mad we just wanted them to know that it was really cold. I glad she was able to find a solution to the problem and we all got free ice-cream which I was pretty happy with.



The accommodation styles at Tangalooma was really good I think I thought it might not be great but I was really surprised by the room and the bathroom amenities with air conditioning and just minutes’ walk to the beach how could you not be impressed or I just easily impressed either way the island host a range of accommodation styles from units and hotels to villas and apartments ranging from 31/2 star to 4 star so there is something to suit every style of traveler.







Things to do on Tangalooma well I could seriously go on for days there is that much to do and see you want to stay longer. They offers a wide range of things and see, you are spoiled for choice here with Exploring Moreton island tours by 4WD buses and a tone of water base activities such as their famous feeding wild dolphins every evening, snorkeling tours of the shipwrecks, kayaking , transparent Night kayak tours, stand up paddle boarding scuba diving and I could go on… They have a few land base actives such desert safari and toboggan down the giant sand dunes or quad bike riding around the amazing island. Endless adventure here at Tangalooma Island Resort it’s like a big Kids and little kids play ground. If you are having trouble getting not the relax mood Tangalooma island resort also offer massages and beauty room services on the island.







What I find most appealing about this Resort is that the has almost unlimited supply of clear fresh water thanks to an underground water table, containing thousands of liters of fresh water, which the resort uses on a daily basis, I found this amazing a such a unique feature of the resort. Also this amazing resort have a eco certification with EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism; with two certifitions Tangalooma Island Resort - 2016 Digital Certificate Benchmarked Bronze and Tangalooma Island Resort - 2015 Evaluation Certificate.



We also had a really great back of house tour which I found so good in understanding all that need to be done to make this resort run. We met with Trevor first the general manager he talk about the island and how they are trying to make it as stainable as possible; with everything on the island from their own water treatment plant to their own source they are working on becoming form stainable and eco-friendly. With 95% of Moreton island being national park that is a good sign that they are trying to keep this magical island as purist as possible. Trevor talk about how they don’t not want this to become a gold coast with high raises and trying to keep the native trees and work around the land not the other way around. After we had a tour of back of house we sat down Hunk who came her 14 years ago for 3 months and is still here he is the assistant manger he talk a lot about how hospitality runs and how we have to paint a smile on our faces every morning when working in hospitality. It was interesting to hear that they have occupancy rate of 82% all year round “WOW “that is pretty good for a Resort, also tat they recently started having P & O cruise stop for a day or night this must really help with business un influx of 1000 to 1300 people book tours on the island. He was very inspiring to listen to Hunk he had such a calm nature and really funny as well.



Overall I had such wonderful time on Tangalooma lsand Resort, I would have to say that this is a must do on your bucket list, an forgettable experience of a life time from feeding wild dolphins to snorkeling 15 shipwrecks and seeing 200 tropical fish. I would recommended this for family’s or couples or anyone who just wants a nice weekend away with friendly staff all over the island I found this to be such a amazing experiences one I will never forget.

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Photos

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waiting to board

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Heading over to Tangalooma Island Resort

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Seating on the Boat over to the island

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Trying on our wetsuits

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Getting ready to snorkel

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YAY!! we get to go snorkelling

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Wild dolphin feeding

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Dinner time!

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Learning about the marine life

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Our talk with Trevor