DAY BOAT CRUISES

Welcome Aboard!

Take a relaxing cruise through the clear, calm waters of Moreton Bay to the Tangalooma Shipwrecks, in the company of majestic marine life and our knowledgeable Tangatours guides.

Step aboard our purpose-built glass bottom boat and discover adventure beyond the shores with our range of day boat cruises the whole family can enjoy. The protected waters of the Moreton Bay Marine Park are home to a breathtaking assortment of marine life, from dolphins and dugongs to wobbegongs, sea turtles and rays. Just a short cruise offshore, an incredible underwater world is revealed in the shallow aquatic playground of the sandbar.

Then glide peacefully past the distinctive silhouette of the Tangalooma Shipwrecks, just north of the resort. This cluster of scuttled ships provides a haven for colourful corals and over 200 fish species, and is a hotspot for snorkelling, diving and underwater exploration. Along the way, our expert guides enrich your journey with enlightening audio commentary about the island, its history and its amazing marine inhabitants, giving you a greater appreciation for all this beautiful bay has to offer.

We conduct both a leisurely 90-minute Marine Discovery Cruise and a condensed format 45-minute Wrecks Sightsee and Fish Feeding Cruise to accommodate your preferences. Both tours depart daily from directly in front of our main Tangatours office at Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island.

Arrive at the office at least 30 minutes early to check in for your cruisy adventure. From here, our welcoming guide will lead the group down to the water’s edge, where your vessel awaits. A non-slip ramp leads from the sandy shore to your 12-metre boat, known as ‘The Missing Link’. A roof provides shade, aluminium bench seating lines the boat’s perimeter, and a series of glass bottom underwater viewing pods runs down the vessel’s centre.

Safety Briefing

Before your tour commences, the skipper will introduce the crew and run through some important messages to ensure your safety aboard our vessel.

When walking around the boat, please always hold onto the vessel with one hand. Guests are welcome to move about the boat throughout your cruise – to look over the edge and into the glass bottom pods. If you are travelling with small children, please keep a close eye on them, always supervising carefully. Children are welcome to kneel on the seats so they can see over the side, but please don’t stand on the seats.

In the unlikely event that anybody goes overboard into the water and you see it, point to them and yell out ‘Man overboard!’ in a big, loud voice. Keep pointing at the overboard person until we can turn around and come back to retrieve them. This will help us locate them in the water.

If the crew ask you to put on a lifejacket and disembark the boat in the unlikely event of an emergency, please remain calm and don your lifejacket as follows. Place your head through the large hole at the top of the lifejacket. Take hold of the black straps, cross them around behind your back and secure them firmly at the front of your body. Your crew will provide a physical demonstration of how to do this. Lifejackets are stowed in lockers in the bow of the boat and will be distributed by the crew if required.

If you need to step off the boat, we’ll instruct you which direction to take and which gate to disembark from. Please listen carefully to crew members instructions and obey them in a calm manner. Just hold the lifejacket underneath your chin with your hands and step straight off the vessel into the water if directed.

The vessel you are travelling on is a ‘wet boat’. This means there may at times be a splash of water come over the front of the vessel. This is perfectly normal and not a reason for concern. Don’t panic, we are not sinking! This is simply part of the boat’s design. Just please note that your feet may get a little wet, particularly up towards the front of the vessel.

If you have any rubbish onboard, please hand it to the crew and they will take care of it for you. We don’t want any rubbish accidentally blowing over the side and ruining the pristine waters.

Now please sit back, relax and enjoy your cruise through beautiful Moreton Bay.

Cruising to the Sandbar

As we head out on the water, take a moment to delight in the fresh sea breezes and the warm caress of sunshine on your face. On calm days, the boat slips effortlessly through a glassy seascape, while on slightly rougher days when the swell is up, you may hear the rhythmic splashing of waves again the boat’s bow, and feel the refreshing hint of sea spray on your skin. Over the thrum of the boat’s engine, you’ll hear the relaxed chatter of fellow passengers, and perhaps the excited calls of sightseers spotting marine life in the surrounding waters.

Heading west away from the resort, we travel for a short time over the deep blue-green waters of our Tangalooma lagoon, with a depth of between 18 to 20 metres. Then quite suddenly, the surrounding waters fade to a stunning light shade of turquoise, signalling our arrival at the shallow sandbar. This area is an idyllic natural aquarium for viewing marine wildlife.

Dark patches of seagrass contrast vividly with the surrounding white sand on the ocean floor. The sandbar’s shallow depth of just one to five metres (depending on the tide) allows sunlight to penetrate to the sea floor, and seagrass to grow in abundance. The main two species of seagrass growing here are Dugong Grass and Eel Grass. Our Dugong Grass feeds our population of beautiful dugongs, while our Eel Grass is an important food source to our resident sea turtle population. These seagrasses also help to keep the water clean, as the roots hold the sand in place and prevent heavy sediment disruption by waves and other oceanic movements. No wonder these waters are so crystal clear and teaming with marine life!

Dugongs and Sea Turtles

The protected waters of Moreton Bay Marine Park provide a sanctuary for a vast array of majestic marine life.

We have the highest recorded population of dugongs in close proximity to a capital city, with around 800 animals residing here. These shy and slow-moving sea creatures grow to around 3 metres in length and weigh as much as 500 kilograms! Commonly known as ‘sea cows’, these gentle giants graze on seagrasses, with the average adult consuming around 30 kilograms, which equates to around 60 lettuces. They are excellent farmers too – feeding in a manner that promotes the growth of their preferred seagrass species. They have a large brown or grey body, a broad snout, two small flippers near the front of the body and a fluked tail like a dolphin. Interestingly, dugongs are more closely related to elephants than any marine mammal. We have two very territorial males who inhabit the sandbar in front of the resort.

Green sea turtles are our most common species of sea turtle, with around 10,000 animals gliding gracefully through these waters. Green sea turtles grow up to 1.8 metres in length and weigh up to a massive 190 kilograms. They are exceptional underwater swimmers, only needing to breathe every 6 to 8 minutes, or every 3 to 4 hours while they are sleeping at night. Did you know these efficient inhalers breathe in through their nose and out through their backsides?

We also have around 2,000 loggerhead turtles. Similar in size to green turtles, this species is more of a brownish colour, with a very large neck and head – almost the size of a rugby ball. These calm waters also provide refuge for around 500 critically endangered Hawksbill turtles, which were once hunted for their distinct, dome-shaped shells. Thankfully this practice is now illegal, and their population is beginning to rise.

Other Majestic Marine Life

In addition to our dugongs and sea turtles, we also encounter a range of other large and majestic marine life out here on the sandbar.

There is a big pod of around 600 inshore bottlenose dolphins that hang around the island. They have a short, stout beak, a large slightly hooked dorsal fin, and a grey body with a paler underbelly. They grow to around 3 metres in length and can weigh anything up to a massive 650 kilograms, though more commonly less than half that size. Sleek and streamlined, these speedy swimmers can cruise around the bay at up to 37 kilometres per hour. Did you know these highly intelligent mammals use a series of clicking sounds, known as echolocation, to locate pray, communicate with other dolphins and develop a picture of their surroundings? Interestingly, they also breathe consciously and sleep with half of their brains at a time, while the other half stays alert to regulate breathing.

During the cruise, you may also encounter a variety of rays, including shovelnose and cownose rays. Shovelnose rays are sometimes mistaken for sharks, due to their prominent dorsal fins. Some small reef sharks, such as wobbegongs and nurse sharks can also occasionally be seen. Every now and then, a humpback whale that’s become a little lost on its annual migration offers a special spectacle for our guests.

History of the Island

Moreton Island, the third largest sand island in the world, has a long and colourful history to explore.

The region and Indigenous people of Moreton Bay are referred to as the Quandamooka. They include the Ngugi tribe on Moreton Island and the Gorenpul and Nunukil clans on North Stradbroke Island. The traditional name for Moreton Island is Moorgumpin, meaning ‘place of sandhills’. The Ngugi people maintained a marine-based lifestyle here for over 2,000 years, and had a special way of fishing cooperatively with the local dolphin population. The men would wade into the water, slapping their spears on the water’s surface to summons the dolphins, who would herd large schools of fish in with them. The fishermen would catch the fish, always giving a portion back to the dolphins to eat.

In 1952, a company called ‘Whale Products’ established the largest land-based whaling station in the Southern Hemisphere here on Moreton Island. During the station’s operations between 1952 and 1962, 6,277 humpback whales and one undersized blue whale were captured and processed on the island, severely impacting the Australian whale population. Thanks to strong national conservation measures which followed, whale numbers have gradually recovered in the area, and we can once again experience the magic of these majestic creatures up close.

During the early stages of World War II, coastal fortifications were built as part of the nation’s defensive system off the east coast. They included Fort Cowan Cowan on the western side and Rous Battery at Toompani on the eastern side. These days, you can still step back in time and visit some of the remnants of these island fortifications.

In 1980, the Osborne family from Brisbane purchased what was originally the whaling station, gradually transforming it into Tangalooma Island Resort. In Quandamooka language, ‘Tangalooma’ means ‘where the fish gather’ – a highly fitting name for this pristine aquatic playground.

The Tangalooma Shipwrecks

Following a leisurely cruise slightly north of the resort, we’ll arrive at the famous Tangalooma Shipwrecks.

We’ll sail by the slightly crooked line of semi-submerged vessels, whose rusting remains protrude from the turquoise waters, creating a dark silhouette in the surrounding seascape. There are 15 wrecks here in total, including six which are fully submerged. This collection of sand dredges and barges were scuttled here by the Queensland Government between 1963 and 1984, to provide a safe anchorage point for boats on the eastern side of the island.

Most of these sunken vessels were formerly commissioned to collect and transport the island’s high-silica sand back to Brisbane to make bricks, glass and other building materials.

The first vessel to be sunk here was the Maryborough, an iron-hulled bucket dredge built in 1885. Just behind it, another ship, the Morwong, sits on an awkward angle and marks the deepest point along the line of shipwrecks, with a maximum depth of around 12 metres on high tide. The southernmost wreck is called the Echeneis, a suction dredge built in 1954, and the last vessel to be sunk here in 1984.

As well as creating a wave break, the Tangalooma Shipwrecks have become an iconic island attraction. Coral reefs have sprouted on their submerged surfaces, and over 130 different species of soft and hard corals grow here. Amidst the ships’ skeletons, over 200 species of tropical and sub-tropical fish find refuge, creating a unique underwater wonderland for snorkellers and divers to explore. Discover the magical hidden world beneath the surface with Tangatours’ ever-popular guided snorkel tour. For further details, please ask our friendly staff or check out our ‘Snorkel Tangalooma Wrecks’ accessible audio guide.

Behind the wrecks on the island’s shore, a series of steep white sand dunes contrasts vividly with the surrounding greenery of lush coastal vegetation.

The Fish Feeding Experience

Now that we’ve cruised along the western side of the wrecks, it’s time to drop anchor at the northern end, where you’ll have an opportunity to feed some fish.

As the boat pulls up, you will hear the loud metallic sound of the anchor chain paying out, as the skipper positions the boat in place in the shallow waters surrounding the wrecks. Your guide will then make their way around the boat with a bucket of dry fish food pellets. These pellets do contain seafood, so if you have a seafood allergy, please do not touch the fish food. It has also been scientifically proven that fish cannot eat through glass, so please do not put any fish food in the glass bottom pods. Instead, throw it over the side of the boat, to experience an epic fish feeding frenzy!

Some of the more common species you may be feeding include Butter Bream, Yellowfin Bream and Squire (or young Snapper). Butter Bream are small, bright silver diamond-shaped fish, with yellowish fins. Yellowfin Bream tend to be larger, with silver to olive-green bodies and pectoral, ventral and anal fins. Squires are juvenile Snapper, with bright blue markings on their silvery bodies distinguishing them from the other fish.

As these schools of small fish swarm to snaffle the food, you can hear the subtle sound of their splashing and leaping as their tales tickle the water’s surface. This interactive experience is sure to be a highlight of your cruise and will delight both the children and the young at heart.

Accessibility – Day Boat Cruises

As a small and adaptable business, Tangatours endeavours to accommodate the needs of all guests to the best of our ability.

For your safety, if you have any access requirements, or any injury, medical condition (such as pregnancy, epilepsy, asthma, or cardiovascular conditions), disability, disease, or illness which may be aggravated by, or may interfere with your ability to safely participate, please do not book your tour online. Instead, please contact us directly on +61 07 3410 6927 to discuss your needs and options with our friendly staff.

The Marine Discovery Cruise and Wrecks Sightsee and Fish Feeding Cruise both depart from and return to the main Tangatours office, at Tangalooma Island Resort, Moreton Island. Please note all guests purchasing Tangatours products must be travelling on the Tangalooma ferry (from Brisbane) or staying at the resort.

Our main office where you will check in for your tour features ramp access, a wide entry and plenty of open space to manoeuvre. We have beach matting available in front of our office to aid mobility over the upper soft sand section of the beach, and our glass bottom boats offer ramp access directly off the shore. Access to the boat may be impacted for some guests with limited mobility due to the nature of beach boarding and the ridging on the ramp (required by Maritime Safety regulations). Again, please contact us directly to discuss your unique circumstances and we’ll endeavour to assist wherever possible.

Audio commentary is provided throughout this tour, and safety briefings include a physical demonstration of how to don a lifejacket, as well as verbal instruction.

Please note that there are no toilet facilities onboard our glass bottom boat. Bathrooms (including accessible facilities?) are available for your convenience in the main resort building adjacent to the Tangatours office.