[benbsb29]

‘Escape the fake’

Imagine a place where you could drive along the beachfront for kms



… or navigate through narrow inland tracks



… snorkel to find amazing sea life around sunken ships



… experience tropical beachside living



… ride a Quad bike on the beach and surrounds



… or even a Segway on the beach.


Welcome to Moreton Island – the third largest sand island in the world.

[benbsb29]

Located off the coast of Brisbane, lies Moreton Island – touted as the third largest sand island in the world, this place is about 90 mins by ferry from the Port of Brisbane. Comprising of 98% National Park, the rest of it is a resort called the Tangalooma Island Resort.

Looking out towards the Tangalooma Island Resort located on the west coast of the island


There are numerous camp sites which are located close to the beaches, which can be booked via the national parks website. We chose to stay at the resort and plan was to try out some of the activities at the resort as well.

As there are no bitumen roads on the island, a 4WD is essential to roam around the island. You can hire them at the resort as well, but at A$380 or so a day, the costs can add up pretty quick.



Ferry services to the island include a passenger ferry which is run by the resort, or else the Micat ferry which transports both passengers as well as cars. As we were planning to drive around and explore the island, the choice was obvious for us – MiCat it is.

Booking for accommodation at Tangalooma Island Resort is done directly via their website: https://www.tangalooma.com/
Booking for Micat is done via their website: https://bookings.moretonislandadventures.com.au/

Make sure you have availability for accommodation as well as ferry, as these get booked out pretty quick, especially during school holidays and long weekends. In addition to these, you also need to purchase a permit at A$54 for driving around the National Park, which comes with a month’s validity.

As mobile coverage is quite patchy on the island outside the areas of the resort, make sure you have covered yourself for any recoveries, should you get stuck. If stuck on the beach, and with an incoming tide, you are running against the clock to recover your car. On inland tracks, you may not always see other cars, so help can be hours away during off-peak seasons.

I carried a set of TRED recovery tracks mounted to the roof cross bars, as well as recovery gear comprising of an equaliser strap, snatch strap, shackles and dampener. Needless to say, like insurance this is essential and you wish you never need to use it.

[benbsb29]

DAY 1

We were booked on the Micat ferry which was scheduled to leave the Port of Brisbane at 0600 hours, and we had to reach the port 45 mins before time. This meant an early start, and sure enough there was a line ahead of us despite reaching on time. The cars were neatly arranged onboard taking into account cars with trailers and so on.

The queue to board the ferry, split into 4WDs, Utes and those with trailers


Sunrise over the port


After boarding the ferry, most of us went about reducing tyre pressures as we step out from the ferry straight onto soft beach sand, and you do not want to be that person who got stuck for not having the right tyre pressure. Based on my experience, I went down to about 16 PSI in all tyres. Once done, it was a matter of grabbing a bite and coffee from the onboard café on the ferry and waiting out the 90 mins or so to get to Moreton Island.

Comfortable passenger seating area


Making our way to the island


We arrive at the west coast of Moreton Island near the Tangalooma Wrecks and wait for instructions before driving off the ferry in an orderly fashion. We drove towards the Tangalooma Wrecks, had a glance and then decided to drive towards the north.

Remains of a Starfish spotted


When we landed it was low tide, and we had about an hour and a bit more before the tide started to come in. This meant that we need to plan our trip such that we do not get landlocked till the next low tide. We drove up a bit north, and then backtracked to head down the aptly named Middle Road to get across the island.





Middle Road divides the island roughly into two halves and is one way, meaning there is one track to go East, and another one to go West. This really helps as the track gets really narrow in places and it would be almost impossible to have to give way to oncoming traffic.







Along the Middle Road we saw directions to The Desert and turned right to proceed towards it. This route is bidirectional, and on a few occasions both oncoming traffic as well as ourselves had to reverse to make way for the other party to get through. We finally get to The Desert and the sheer scale of sand before us was a sight in itself. Personally, this was my first time walking along the crest of sand dunes.





We tried some sand boarding using a body board we brought along, but despite the glossy surface, the board just refused to slide! Tried a few different options – sitting, face pointing down.. but nothing worked. We saw some other folks with similar lack of success.



Needless to say, walking around the sand was quite tiring, not to forget the sun bearing down on us, on a hot, sunny day in Queensland.







The tour bus from the resort brought in its wake people who paid for the package and they came equipped with a guide and boards that were waxed. Soon enough, we saw those folks slip n slide their way down the sand slopes in glee, while we were left dusting off the sand from our boards.





I tried a couple of pics with the drone, but soon enough it complained of low battery and I had to bring it down.

One from the drone - The track you see is only allowed for the tour bus


The frantic alarms it sounds at this point unnerves you, and soon enough it landed inches away from the spot I wanted it to land, and into the soft sand. Sigh!





The day was hot and we were eager to get into the comfort of the air-conditioning in the car. To think about it, this wasn’t even summer!

[benbsb29]

From The Desert we made our way back to the Middle Road and found a road to go west. It took us through a track of various levels of difficulty – from soft and sandy to hard in places with water bodies to wade through, not to forget it becoming narrow in some places where we passed through with banks on either side with barely a car’s width to pass through.



As we kept going with no guidance from online maps, we reached the exit to the beach.. only to realise we chose the wrong turn! Instead of heading east, we went west.







Oh well.. it was time to have an early lunch as our daughter explained, as we had a very early start by her standards – waking up at 4AM.

Made our way down to the western beach close to where we embarked on the island, parked and put up the awning.



New set of folks arriving at the island on the ferry. Multiple trips are organized during school holidays


The reason we could not bring our pet along


Chef’s special for brunch was cup noodles – the spicy, Korean variety.







Don't miss the speed limit sign on the beach. All road rules are enforced on the beach, including checks for speeding, permits and driving under influence.


It was quite hot, and getting close to our check in time at the resort, so we did just that. We also had to find out where the parking is and so on, as the resort is quite sprawled out and cars are not allowed inside the premises.

Tangalooma Island Resort






Cop cars at the station attached to the resort. 70 series Land Cruisers are the norm even for an ambulance


We spent the evening in the resort, taking in the various facilities on offer and participated in the wild dolphin feeding activity which was included in our package.

Sunset by the beach




Dolphin feeding takes places by the jetty attached to the resort. there is a viewing area as well


These wild dolphins as if on cue visit the resort every evening as part of a conservation program, have been given names and their numbers are tracked. There is a quick presentation about the wild nature of these animals, and about them in general. Folks who are part of the dolphin feeding activity are arranged in lines where you get your turn in twos to wade into the water and provide a fish to the dolphin. This is a bit of an elaborate process as the dolphins are not in an enclosure and free to choose to participate. As you need to wade into the water, possibly waist deep, you are instructed to wear suitable attire.

There are various restaurants at the resort, and is quite a tourist hotspot, more so being school holiday season. The resort was packed and there is a flurry of activity in the common areas, with families mingling, kids playing and staff doing their best to keep it all flowing smoothly. A quick note about the hospitality at the resort.. it was just awesome! All the way from the staff at reception, to the restaurants and inhouse shop, as well as those manning the activities.


Dinner was followed by a walk along the private beach and taking in the vibes.

Good choice of food on offer


Later in the evening, i felt like experiencing what the beach would feel like in the night time, so we went on a quick drive along the beach. Needless to say, there was not a single other car seen on the beach. Even with my high beams on, it felt like i wasn't able to see much ahead. After driving around a bit and without venturing too far, we made our way back to the resort.



The next morning would be yet another early start.

[benbsb29]

DAY 2

As I mentioned earlier, one of the most critical things to remember when on this island is how much you are bound by the tides. You can only drive along the beachfront to get to most sections of the island, except the few parts where there is an inland track. This means that you need to adhere to the tide times – only drive on the beach during low tide, and there is a 2 hour window before and after the low tide time during which you can traverse the beach. Following this, the waters rise rather quick and you risk being land-locked, or worse still the risk of losing your car to nature.

On Day 2, the morning low tide time was about 7:15AM, which meant only motorable time was between 5-9AM. Between this time, you need to get to your destinations and then stay off the beaches with the car. You can drive along some sections during high tide, but you are doing so in soft sand, and also cannot pass through some sections where vegetation or trees are blocking your path. This meant we had to start our day early, so as to make the most of the available time.





We left the resort about 7:15 and decided to drive up north along the beach. You can drive along the beach to the area called Cowan Cowan, where the beach access is blocked, and you need to take the bypass track to get across.

Section of beach closed at Cowan Cowan


It was a fine day, with not much people out and about at that time. However, we did observe many in the campgrounds that looked out onto the beach, nestled between the trees which provided some respite from the winds. As we got to Cowan Cowan, we were about to take a turn to get to the bypass track, but came across a Prado which had gotten bogged, and was in the process of being rescued.

You will always find that the sand at the entry and exit of tracks, are the most churned and hence challenging. Momentum is key, and this was something I learnt the hard way from my experience at my usual hunting spot – Bribie Island.



We stopped to enquire if the stranded folks needed any help and waited till the recovery was completed. One of the folks helping them out also guided me on the line to take to avoid the worst part of the track entry. I reversed the car, and then positioned it so as to get a decent run up to hit the track. It worked to precision, and we were off.


Along the track we didn’t find too many signs telling us where we were going, and on one instance we nearly saw ourselves enter one of the town streets/tracks of Cowan Cowan. After being so used to being guided by online maps and GPS, it was a world of change using your own instinct and sense of direction to know which was the right way. We finally made our way back to the beach, and decided to head towards the area called Bulwer, where there was another shipwreck, but more along the shoreline.

With the passing time, we could already see water levels begin to rise with the incoming tide. The available area of the beach to drive on had reduced and still in the process of doing so.

Tide closing in, reducing driveable area of beach


We continued to drive ahead, not knowing how much farther up ahead the wreck was, and what our options were following that.

Finally got to Bulwer Wrecks and spent some time there before we moved on. There were a couple of families already at the wrecks, and they were fishing at the shores. However, knowing the incoming tide, they left before we did.





The Living and the Dead - pretty symbolic






Looking at the physical map I picked up on the ferry, it showed an inland track to get to the north part of the island.


However, what we weren’t sure of was how to get onto this inland track from the beach. There appeared to be multiple exits from the beach, and as we later found out, they seemed to merge into this track at various points after meandering their way across the landscape.









As we kept going along this inland track, what struck us was how desolate it was. Progress was slow, as there were some water puddles in between, and with the water looking opaque, no way of knowing how deep some of them could be. At some places the track opened up revealing the diversity of vegetation around.





Soon, the sand became extremely powdery and almost white. There weren’t any trees around us, and so we could see far ahead.



All this while we didn’t cross a single other car on the track. It was quite hot, but there was definitely a sense of adventure not knowing what lay up ahead.





We got to a T junction of sorts, with one track leading towards Tailor Bight, and the other towards North Point and Blue Lagoon. The former was closed to traffic, so the decision was easy to make.

Progress was steady, and the Pajero took all that was thrown its way in its stride. We finally got a point called Five Hills Lookout, and decided to explore the place.



We parked at the foothills of what looked like an uphill climb. The surface was completely soft sand, so this along with the ascent made us pant and tire out rather quickly. Yet, we continued with the climb. I’d say about 10-15 mins later we got to the summit, and our efforts were well rewarded. The view from here was amazing!





On one side was the sea and the other side we could see the inland track snaking its way as it made its way towards the Cape Moreton lighthouse. The faint silhouette of the lighthouse could be seen in the distance.



Spotted some interesting plants here.





Descent back to the car was much easier despite the sand. We met another family who were making their way up to the lookout. A nicely kitted out Wrangler indicated their ride.

[benbsb29]

We continued on till the track took us beside the beach.



There was a bend up ahead, and I assumed the track would run alongside the beach, but not on the beach. I went ahead on foot to check, and saw that there was a Triton which was waiting and contemplating their course of action.





The tide was on its way up, and there was no way of going through without getting into the sea a bit, as a tree was blocking our path. The person driving the Triton and I had a chat, checked out the scene ahead and options, if any. We decided that the only way across without waiting for low tide was to make a break for it, as the waves receded, and hope for the best.



I waited and watched to see him go about it. Gingerly he made his way closer to the salt waters, and just as the waves went back from the shore, he made a dash for it and got past the tree. Up ahead along the path there was a washout of water making its way into the sea, carving out the banks as it flowed across. I watched the exact path chosen by the Triton, and made a note of it.

Came back to the car, and informed my family of our course of action. We followed the same steps as the Triton, and as much as possible followed the same path. We made it across. Once past these obstacles, lay before us flat plains surrounded by water on either side – a lagoon on one, and the sea on the other. Water in the lagoon was quite reddish in color, owing to the tea color from the trees in the area. It did feel surreal, the whole visual spectacle of the place.









We made our way to the edge of the land mass, and discovered we had reached the Champagne Pools – a place we planned to visit, but did not realise we had reached. We walked up the flight of stairs and proceeded to check out North Point, as well as the place called Honeymoon Bay.



Honeymoon Bay - an awesome spot for pics




The climb sometimes resembled an obstacle course


North Point Lighthouse


Spotted atop the hill, near the North Point lighthouse








After exploring North Point and the surrounds, we made our way down to where the car was parked – it was time for lunch.



I believe these are related to crabs around, any ideas?


We stuck to cup noodles and tuna sandwiches to keep It simple, which was then followed by playing in the Champagne Pools.



Needless to say, the froth created by the strong waves hitting against the rocks gave rise to the effect of champagne, which was visually quite a treat to watch.



Water was really clear when the waves weren't present


When playing in the pools, be wary of rocks under the water which cannot be seen from above. The force of the waves can push you onto them with quite the force, and chance of injuring yourself exists.





Picture perfect, what say? Looks straight out of an ad

[benbsb29]

Some more pics from Champagne Pools.









Having spent a good amount of time at Champagne Pools, it was now time to move on to our next destination – the Cape Moreton Lighthouse.

The offline version of Google Maps I had downloaded wasn’t much help on the island as most routes were not marked on it, and it just kept spinning returning a ‘Cannot find route’ error. This screengrab from Apple CarPlay shows us around the northern tip of the island.



Once again, it took us some time to find the actual track which led us to the Lighthouse. We found a few other folks as well struggling with the same predicament.
Once we managed to find the actual track, it was pretty much about following logic to keep going in the general direction we wanted. It’s amazing how much we have gotten accustomed to technology and being online that being away from it requires us to dust the cobwebs off the skills in interpreting a physical map or analysing our current location.

Once in a while you find signs showing you the route to take


We kept making our way to the cape. Reaching the venue, parked and walked our way up to get to the summit. I had initially planned to get the drone up around here to get some good aerial pics, but the wind was so strong that we had trouble even keeping our hats on us! The view was amazing, and it was also good to read up on the island.

Cape Moreton Lighthouse




There is an Information Center up here, but we didn’t go in to check it out. The wind was so strong, we were actually trying to shield ourselves from it.

View of the Eastern beaches from the lighthouse area


Sandy stretches seen in the distance


Solar power generation atop the cape


After a quick walk around the place, we set out again. We now had to find our way to the Blue Lagoon, which is among the highly recommended places on the island.

As is now a common observation for us on the island, we didn’t really find a sign to guide us. Once again, it was about trusting instinct and a general sense of direction. Thankfully it paid off.

The track we were on was a descent, considering how we had slowly made our way up to get to the area around the lighthouse situated on top of the cape. The track was only wide enough for one car to get through. We reached a point where we saw a Land Cruiser 200 series parked by the side. Lowered the window and spoke to the lady driving it, who told us that the track below as we get close to the beach on the eastern side was narrow and quite choppy. To make matters interesting, there was a Prado which was stuck there, blocking the entry and exit. She also mentioned there were 2 other cars in their group who were looking to make their way up and it would advised to probably wait up here so as to provide those cars with a clear approach.



We did as recommended and walked down to where the Prado was stuck. There was an Isuzu MU-X trying to pull it out, and there were people from the group around to help. I had a brief chat with some folks there, and realised that we had it better coming down on this stretch rather than going up.

Finally the Prado was tugged out and the 3 cars from the group did a bit of a runup along the beach to power their way up the churned climb. There was a person waiting up near our cars to stop any other cars from coming down, as the last thing you want to do is lose momentum on the climb or come face-on with oncoming traffic.





Once the convoy made their way up, we made our way down onto the beach. I did enquire with the folks about driving down the eastern beaches and was told it should be ok, as it doesn’t get as narrow as the western beaches during the tide.

Don’t miss the deep ruts on the track, which can cause you to drag the car’s belly along the crest.

[benbsb29]

Once we got down to the eastern beaches, it almost felt like a highway!

Among my favourite pics from the trip. The Cape Moreton lighthouse can be seen in the background


Cruising along the beach, sea on one side and sometimes a sand bank on the other. Do watch out for washouts along the beach, some of which may be deep and deceptive to the eyes when you are gunning down the stretch.

Along this long stretch of beach, we rarely saw other cars. For some part we had a Land Rover Discovery for company.



On the odd occasion there was someone fishing along the beach, with a really young daughter alongside. Both the person and the child waved to us as we went past, and we returned the wave.

We were on a quest to find the entry to the Blue Lagoon track, but as we kept going, it was nowhere to be seen. Add to the fact that Google Maps was of no use, we were pretty much guessing where the turn would be. Finally we got to the point where we saw the turn into Middle Road. This clearly meant we had gone way past the turn off to Blue Lagoon, which should have been somewhere at the half mark!

Determined to try once again, we made our way back north along the eastern beach. We got to the same person who was fishing and stopped to chat with him. He told us that the turn was a bit further up ahead, and did warn us that there are huge puddles of water to get through to the lagoon, and with no snorkel on my car, it’s a huge risk. He mentioned how he had a conked starter motor on his car, owing to water wading. He remarked that he has been on the island camping for 3 weeks now, and that the Blue Lagoon was definitely worth a visit. He did ask to park the car somewhere and try to traverse on foot. Thanked him a lot for his help and set out to find the entry.

As expected a few kms later we found the turn. It then hit us, as to why we missed it! The sign was posted a bit towards the entry to the track, and facing traffic coming from the south, which would usually be folks coming from the Middle Road doing the anti-clockwise loop. However, as we had taken the clockwise loop, it wasn’t in our sight.


Proceeding down this track, we understood what we had been advised. We got through one puddle of water, only to see the next one which looked ominous.



My wife and daughter decided to wade through to get to the other side, but somewhere down the middle, the water rose above waist deep, and they decided to turn back. The muddy water didn’t inspire the quest to wade further.

Made our way back to the eastern beach, took the turn to Middle Road and made our way back to the familiarity of the western beach.

Making our way back to the western beaches via Middle Road


Spent the rest of the evening enjoying the resort facilities and dinner. Tried the local seafood specialty called Moreton Bay Bugs (also known as Balmian bugs), a flat lobster-like animal with a hard external shell.



We were soon entering our last day on the island, the plan for which was to try out attractions at the resort. The Pajero was to get a well-deserved rest for the day.

[benbsb29]

Thread moved to the Travelogues section from the Assembly Line.

Thanks for reading. Comments welcome.

[AB10]

Such a beautiful and wonderful travelogue! OZ definitely has some of the best beaches in the world. The Pajero must have had a brilliant time there

Originally Posted by benbsb29

On the odd occasion there was someone fishing along the beach, with a really young daughter alongside. Both the person and the child waved to us as we went past, and we returned the wave.

This is so common when I visited Australia. People there are actually happy to meet other folks and have a chat which is unfortunately so uncommon over here. Even the Indians settled down there have a sense of camaraderie which is hardly seen over here

[Jaggu]

This is so awesome an experience and the way you share it, I was immersed and felt that sand on my feet at times. Thanks Ben for sharing, voted excellent also.

[vb-saan]

That's an awesome travelogue. Thank you for sharing; would love to get there one day!

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Chef’s special for brunch was cup noodles – the spicy, Korean variety.

My girl normally stays away from anything spicy, but this is always an exception

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by AB10

Such a beautiful and wonderful travelogue! OZ definitely has some of the best beaches in the world. The Pajero must have had a brilliant time there

Thanks AB10. Agree with the Australia being home to some of the most wonderful beaches in the world.

Originally Posted by AB10

This is so common when I visited Australia. People there are actually happy to meet other folks and have a chat which is unfortunately so uncommon over here. Even the Indians settled down there have a sense of camaraderie which is hardly seen over here

I find it quite reassuring and comforting when folks come up for a chat, or even respond equally when you initiate a conversation. When travelling, this is among the best experiences.

When off-roading or travelling in places like these, such chats help you learn about the conditions around, as well as valuable tips to help with your journey.

Have you checked out this thread of mine? -> Bogged at Bribie Island (Sand driving and getting stuck - Bribie Island adventures with 4x4 SUVs in Australia)

Originally Posted by Jaggu

This is so awesome an experience and the way you share it, I was immersed and felt that sand on my feet at times. Thanks Ben for sharing, voted excellent also.

Thanks a lot, Jaggu. Highly appreciated. Gives me immense pleasure to share this here, and also something to come back to at a later point in time and refresh these memories.

Originally Posted by vb-san

That's an awesome travelogue. Thank you for sharing; would love to get there one day!

Thanks vb-san. Let us know when you guys are coming this way, and we can make it happen.

Originally Posted by vb-san

My girl normally stays away from anything spicy, but this is always an exception

Hehe.. the ones we picked were really spicy for our taste that we chose other alternatives for our meal the next day.

[kiku007]

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

The Pajero looks so at home in the island. I think its less crowded since you beat the long weekend holiday makers.

There's only one question. Which island is next on your list?

[giri1.8]

Amazing location, but car looks even better! Can't stop admiring the beautiful looking proportions, smashing alloys.

Originally Posted by AB10

This is so common when I visited Australia. People there are actually happy to meet other folks and have a chat which is unfortunately so uncommon over here. Even the Indians settled down there have a sense of camaraderie which is hardly seen over here

I guess 1.38 billion vs 25 million people makes all the difference