SNORKEL TANGALOOMA WRECKS TOUR

Snorkelling Amidst Sunken Ships

Explore a unique underwater world wrapped in colourful corals and brimming with magnificent marine life on Tangatours’ guided snorkel experience of the Tangalooma Shipwrecks.

Based at Tangalooma Island Resort on beautiful Moreton Island, Tangatours offer a range of adventure activities, guided tours and equipment hire options to help you discover the bountiful treasures of this pristine paradise. Moreton Island, the world’s third largest sand island, is located a leisurely 75-minute ferry ride from the Queensland capital city of Brisbane yet feels a world away!

Listen on as we escort you on a guided snorkel safari amidst one of the island’s most iconic attractions – the Tangalooma Shipwrecks. These guided snorkel tours depart several times daily from Tangalooma Water Sports, adjacent to the main resort pool. The knowledgeable team at Tangatours will accompany you every step of the way, providing expert commentary and local insights. Tours last about one-and-a-half hours, with around 30 to 35 minutes in the water to explore this intriguing world beneath the surface.

This series of 15 semi-submerged shipwrecks, located just north of the resort, were originally sunk here by the Queensland Government between 1963 and 1984, to act as a wave break and provide a safe anchorage for recreational boats on the otherwise exposed Western shore of the island. These days, the skeletons of the scuttled ships are crusted in colourful reefs boasting over 130 species of hard and soft corals. Over 200 species of tropical and subtropical fish have also found their home here, and other magnificent marine life often pay a visit, including dolphins, sea turtles, wobbegongs and rays.

Your Tangatours guided snorkel experience includes wetsuit, snorkel equipment, boat transfer and knowledgeable and experienced guides to ensure you have a safe and unforgettable time exploring this unique underwater seascape.

So come along and let the Tangatours team show you around!

Getting Geared Up

Snorkel tour departure times vary seasonally and in accordance with weather conditions. Please call in to either Tangalooma Water Sports or the Tangatours main office (just a short stroll north of the jetty) to confirm your exact departure time.

Please arrive at Tangalooma Water Sports 15 minutes before your scheduled tour time to check in. You’ll be asked to complete your indemnity form, either online via a QR code, or in paper format if preferred. You will also need to complete a manifest questionnaire, including a series of simple questions about your previous snorkel experience, swimming ability, medical conditions and other factors that will help us assign you to an appropriate group containing a maximum of 12 guests plus a guide. You will also be assigned a buddy, who you will stick with throughout the snorkel experience. If you are a solo traveller, you will either be buddied up with another solo traveller, or with our friendly guide if preferred.

Once the sign-in process is complete, everyone is provided with a mandatory wetsuit and fins. Some snorkellers will also receive a lifejacket and or pool noodle if they would like one, or if it is deemed necessary at Tangatours’ discretion. As you cannot take anything with you onboard the boat, you can rent lockers to safely stow your gear, or can opt to leave your belongings unsecured either on top of the lockers or in the marquee out front.

Once everyone is checked in and kitted up, the guides will gather their assigned groups, distribute colour-coded snorkels and masks, and run through a pre-departure briefing that will equip you with the information and skills you need in preparation for your adventure.

Then feel the anticipation build as you head down in your group to the pontoon boat awaiting on the beach to begin your unforgettable snorkel experience.

Safety Briefing

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

When walking around the boat, please always hold onto the vessel handrail with one hand. We do ask you to remain seated in your assigned groups throughout the boat transfer. If you are travelling with small children, please keep a close eye on them, always supervising carefully.

In the unlikely event that anybody goes overboard into the water during transit to the wrecks, 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 in front of your body. Your crew will provide a physical demonstration of how to do this. Lifejackets are stowed in overhead racks on our snorkel boats 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. When it is your turn, just hold the lifejacket underneath your chin with your hands and step straight off the vessel into the water.

Now please sit back, relax and enjoy your cruise to the famous Tangalooma Shipwrecks.

Ready, Set, Snorkel!

As the boat pulls away from the beach, you will sense a pleasant buzz of excitement fill the air, as you set out on your aquatic adventure. Cooling sea breezes and warm sunshine play on your skin, as you cruise across the calm, clear waters of the bay. To your right, turquoise waters caress the white sandy shores of the island, and to your left, the seemingly endless pristine waters of Moreton Bay Marine Park stretch towards the west.

Enroute to the wrecks, your mask will be cleaned with soap spray and water to ensure its properly treated before heading out. By now your no doubt feeling pumped and eager to dive in. Soon you’ll arrive at the wrecks, and the skipper will drop anchor. It’s now time to don your fins and mask and prepare to enter the water. The vessel’s entry stairs are winched down, the guide enters the water, and then the rest of the group follows one-by-one. All snorkellers will take hold of the drift line (or mermaid line) that extends from the boat, moving along it until all participants are in the water. Once everyone is feeling safe and comfortable, individual groups will begin to make their way off to explore the surrounding wrecks. Each guide swims with a life ring, so if any snorkellers are feeling the need, they can take hold of this at any time.

Exploring The Tangalooma Wrecks

The distinctive silhouette of the Tangalooma Shipwrecks etches a crooked line in the turquoise waters not far off the island’s sandy shores.

A total of 15 vessels were scuttled here, including six that are fully submerged. Before reaching their final resting place in the pristine waters of Moreton Bay, most of these sand dredges and barges were commissioned to collect and transport the silica-rich sands of the island back to Brisbane, where it was used to make a variety of building materials.

Your snorkel safari will go with the flow of the current, so may commence at either the northern or southern end of the wrecks. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll commence at the southernmost wreck, where you’ll find the Echeneis. This suction dredge was built in 1954, and was the last ship scuttled here in June 1984.

The next two sunken ships in the line – named Seal and Platypus II - were both scuttled in 1966. In the vicinity of the Platypus, you’ll find a relatively flat and calm area known as The Oasis. This is a great spot to take a short break and soak in the splendour of your surroundings. Many species of fish find refuge here, such as schools of brightly coloured Moon Wrasse, and Butter Bream, with their small, diamond-shaped silver bodies and yellowish fins.

On the eastern side of the Platypus II, you’ll encounter the Maryborough and Stingaree. The Maryborough was a huge iron-hulled bucket dredge built in 1885 and the first vessel scuttled here in July 1963. Next is the Morwong, resting at an angle. It marks the deepest point along the wrecks, with a maximum depth of around 12 metres on high tide. Here you’ll likely encounter some of our larger marine life, such as shovelnose rays, wobbegong sharks, Queensland Grouper, Bigeye Trevally and other large fish species.

Northern End of the Wrecks

To the west of the Morwong lies the skeleton of the Bream, a hopper barge built in Maryborough in 1887, and to the north, the Remora, built in Prussia in 1912. The massive frame of the Remora was blown in half during its scuttling, allowing snorkellers to swim through its centre, and creating what we refer to as ‘The Fish Tank’. The protected waters of this area serve as a nursery for young fish, who dart in and out of the ship’s abundant reef. The coral here is predominantly staghorn coral – which protrudes in spiky stems, like deer antlers, from the ship’s surfaces.

The reef-clad hulls of the Pelican and Bermagui are next, commonly referred to as the Coral Gardens. These completely submerged vessels are brimming with an abundance of coral and marine life, and are a real highlight of your snorkel experience. Here, the waters teem with the bright colours of Moon Wrasse and Parrot Fish, alongside the larger shapes of Trevally, Barracuda and the occasional octopus. Turtles also choose to cruise here quite often, while rays and wobbegong sharks lounge below. Don’t be put off by the wobbegong’s name! It’s kind of the ‘couch potato’ of the shark family and an incredibly docile animal, who uses its bearded tassels to entice its daily feed of fish, between taking naps on the ocean floor.

Towards the northern end of the wrecks, you’ll find the Dolphin, Groper, Iceberg, Uki and finally the Kookaburra, a smaller steam anchor launch built in Brisbane in 1933.

At the conclusion of the tour, snorkellers will make their way back to the boat, which will have anchored near the end point of the snorkel trail. You will then reboard the boat, removing your fins before ascending the stairs and settling in for a relaxing cruise back to the resort.

Accessibility – Snorkel Tour

Please note all guests purchasing Tangatours products must be travelling on the Tangalooma ferry or staying at the resort. All participants in this tour must be over six years of age, and any child under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

For your safety, if you have any access requirements, or have any injury, medical condition, disability, disease, or illness which may be aggravated by, or may interfere with your ability to safely participate, please do not book this tour online. Instead, please contact us directly on +61 07 3410 6927 to discuss your options with our friendly staff. In accordance with our medical guidelines, if you are pregnant or have epilepsy, you will need a letter from a doctor specifically stating that you are cleared to participate in snorkelling activities with us.

We love sharing our adventures and will endeavour to accommodate your circumstances wherever possible. However, in accordance with our medical guidelines, Tangatours reserves the right to cancel any booking as deemed necessary, such as if participation would pose an unacceptable health or safety risk to yourself or others.

As part of the mandatory pre-departure procedures, all guests will complete a manifest questionnaire to gain insights into physical ability, medical conditions and other factors which need to be considered when taking part in this adventure activity. We ask all guests to please answer these questions honestly as they are for your safety.

A strong current sometimes sweeps around the wrecks. Your expert TangaTour guides will update you on conditions on the day. Please always follow their instructions and stay with your assigned buddy and group throughout the experience.

Check-in for this tour is conducted at Tangalooma Water Sports on the beachfront across from the main resort pool. This building has a wide and level entry and plenty of open space to manoeuvre. We have beach matting available in front of the building to aid mobility over the upper soft sand section of the beach when walking the short distance to the boat, and our pontoon-style vessels offer ramp access directly off the shore. Boat access may be restrictive for some guests with limited mobility due to the nature of beach boarding and the ridging on the ramp (required by Maritime Safety). Again, please contact us directly to discuss your unique circumstances and we’ll endeavour to assist wherever possible. The stairs leading into the water from the boat are semi-submerged, and a line is available to hang onto for added stability as you enter or exit the water.

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 snorkel tour boat. Bathrooms and showers are available within the Tangalooma Watersports building whilst wheelchair accessible facilities are located behind reception in the main resort building.