I have perforated ear drums and so swimming for me has always been challenging. I used to love water as a child but the ear infections put me off swimming in adulthood. Well all that changed when I got these babies! I got me a Pro Ear Mask, for divers who have trouble equalising. This really was the perfect way for me to rediscover my love of water. The best place for me to test them out was Morteon Island, at Tangalooma Island Resort.
Ferry
Tangalooma is a small island just a short ferry ride from Brisbane, Australia. The ferry takes around 75mins. There is no easy public transport to get to the wharf to board the ferry and I paid $60 for the longer term parking for 4 days 🤑. I’d probably pay the parking again if I’m honest, it made things easier to juggle especially luggage-wise.
Accommodation
It is possible to get day passes to the island. Otherwise, you are locked into a minimum stay of 3 nights if it’s peak season or camping or dropping dropping anchor with a boat. There are a range of room options, but I settled on the unit. It won because it’s easy to take over a box of foodstuffs+esky. The restaurants on the island aren’t exciting.
Snorkel
Tangalooma has a series of ship wrecks, creating an artificial reef where the fish love to hang. It was amazing, and made me realise how much I missed the water. The snorkelling is aimed at non-australian tourists with limited swimming experience. It was well run and I had a great time, but it was way too quick and very, very crowded.
The Beach & Pools
There are two resort pools and a lovely wide beach with plenty of room for everyone. I could have hired things like balls, badminton and bats but didn’t get bored enough to bother. Before coming, I had picked out the activities to do based on rediscovering water, but Tangalooma Island Resort has a tonne of other suggestions. Lucky I’d brought my own gear and could avoid a lot of hire costs. Even off the beach, there is a bunch of fish swimming around.
Twilight Kayaking
After the Palua Ubin 4-hour kayak (similar price), I was left disappointed by the Tangalooma twilight kayak tour. There was a lot of confusion from the booking staff about when and where the tour left from. We ended up missing the boat and they had to come back to collect us. I’m surprised there is even a boat to the kayak tour, and I thought it was a missed opportunity to kayak along the beach to the wrecks.
After snorkelling the day before, I found the view from up top not as spectacular as being in the water. I was also glad that I could steal a divers torch to get better view. It was an expensive tour for 30mins of kayaking time. To be fair, there is the petrol from the main boat that gets you there, and the tour operators do all the heavy lifting and cleaning of the gear.
There were positives. For one, the wrecks are mostly abandoned and the tour is small, so I could ask questions and we could get fish identified. Kayaking at sunset was the perfect time to be out on the water, and views are spectacular. Even though the fish aren’t as exciting above, it’s still an amazing perspective of the underwater-scape. Spotting a shy shark was a highlight for me! The shark would never have come out during the day while the big tour groups are around.
Feeding the Dolphins
Inclusive of the resort stay, is one dolphin feeding. I’ve previously visited Tangalooma in winter, where there was no competition to feed the dolphins. Its freezing, but I got a lot more out of the experience and a lot of water time. Not so in summer. The dolphin feeding is a huge event with 100’s of spectators and not much less participants. I got exactly one fish. The best part of the experience is getting the history of the ‘wild‘ dolphin you are about to feed from the eco-rangers. I recommend spending some time in the Eco Centre as its a wonderful resource and the rangers for knowledgable. The dolphin feeding is otherwise a bit too contrived for my taste.
Next time
I will be going back to Moreton Island. And I’m not sorry I did the tours or stayed in there resort. But as a strong, competent swimmer, and kayaker now that I know where the wrecks are I’ll do it solo. I’ll keep coming back to rediscover my love of water if nothing else! The island experience is great, but it does feel like a huge money making machine. I would like to see the all the tours slow down and a little more emphasis placed on value for money. Hopefully next time I’ll be able to borrow a boat, and hit the island up in winter to avoid the crowds.