Moreton Island

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Hannah and I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning and got ready for a massive day out on Moreton Island. We took the local bus to a rundown hostel down the road where we waited to be picked up by the tour company. Eventually a beaten up 4WD stopped and our tour guide with his long dreads came out and met us, it was going to be an interesting day. We introduced ourselves to everyone in the 4WD as we drove towards the marina which was a good hour away. We had been told that this tour includes lunch which led us to believe something will have been prepared or waiting for us when the time came. However on the way to the marina our tour guide stopped at Subway and picked up a load of sandwiches for us before continuing on with the drive. Eventually we got to the marina and drove on the barge which would take us 45 minutes to get to Moreton Island. We grabbed some breakfast while we had a chance and rested until we got there.

As we approached the Island we all jumped back into the 4WD as the barge docked in the sand. Soon enough after a quick breath test for our driver we were on our way. We arrived at our first stop of the day, a freshwater lake and as much as we appreciated the refreshing swim in this intense heat, there really wasn’t anything special about this particular lake. Out came the Subway sandwiches and it was time for lunch, and just as I thought it was going to be, it was average and they were warm. We walked back to the 4WD and next it was time for some sand boarding, now this is exactly why I wanted to come here. We each carried a board up this very steep, very exhausting sand dune, it was huge, For reasons which were quite obvious I decided it would be better not to take the camera. Our tour guide told us what to do then gave us a demonstration. Head first he flew down the steep dune gaining more and more speed as he went, piece of cake. One by one we reluctantly launched ourselves down the dune, it was awesome, awesome fun, However the walk back to the top was hell, it was soo bad that I could only face 3 turns, it was really, really tiring. Once we were done we walked back through the sand to the 4WD and headed off.

One last stop before it was time to head back. I had done this last time I came with my family years ago and remembered that it was not to be missed. We drove to the coast and down towards the shipwreck, it was time for some snorkeling. We all grabbed masks and fins and jumped straight into the refreshing water. Our tour guide bought some bread so we could feed the thousands of fish as we went. The Ospreys swam around us waiting for us to feed them so they could try grab them while they could. It was beautiful swimming around the wreck the waters absolutely teeming with fish of all colours. As we swam we also saw two Wobbygong Sharks which was a real treat, they swam so close to us. As our guide threw bread into the water the feeding frenzy began, they were going crazy trying to grab some food. We continued swimming around the incredible ship wreck until it was time to head back, it had felt like we were only there for 5 minutes and I was disappointed to have to return to the beach.

We now had an hour free time until the Barge returned to pick us up. I really wanted to jump back in and swim around the wreck but our guide wouldn’t let us. To say we went with the expensive option was a surprise because overall it had been fun, but we felt like we had a lazy babysitter of a guide. I had a walk along the beach until I could see the Barge slowly approaching and headed back to the 4WD. We all jumped in and drove on board. Once we left I got some amazing photos looking back towards the wreck and Moreton Island, we fell asleep for the most part as we slowly made our way back. Eventually after a good few hours we were dropped off at the bus terminal in Brisbane. But our unfortunately our day wasn’t over yet. We checked into out hostel next door but then had to travel all the way back to Hannah’s friends to pick up the rest of our luggage. That was another few hours walking with our heavy backpacks through the city to our hostel. We dropped off our backpacks then headed back into the city again to get some food, we were soo tired. Had dinner at this unusual pub which turned out to have amazing food, it was really, really good and the ice cold beer topped it off, a fantastic meal. Straight after we returned to our hostel to get some much needed sleep.

Accommodation:
Tinbilly Backpackers Hostel

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Photos

Moreton Island
Stunning shipwreaks just off the beach of Moreton Island

Moreton Island
Massive sand dunes perfect for sandboarding.

Moreton Island
The beach of Moreton Island.

Moreton Island
The amazing Tangalooma wreak has incredible snorkling.

Moreton Island
The Tangalooma wreaks off Moreton Island Beach.