ESCAPE.COM.AU . SUNDAY JUNE 10 . 2018 ESCAPE 2 9

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E agles, no chickens!” I’m flat on mybelly peering over the precipice of a35m sand dune with a poise that’smore startled chook than king of thebirds. “Get your elbows up,” guideSean “Doc” Molloy chastises as I cling

to the sides of a chipboard plank that will soon rocket me headfirst down the Mt Everest of sand dunes. “Don’t worry,” Doc had earlier reassured during a safety briefing. “The worst that can happen is you’ll make a fool of yourself.”

That said, he’d comically faceplanted into the sand, emerging with a Saharan pie face.

But that was at the bottom of the dune. At thetop it’s not so funny. I want to chicken out but my seven-year-old daughter has me trumped – extending a nonchalant thumbs up before hurtling down the slope at 40km/h. I raise the front of the board, lift my chicken-wing elbows and, with a spirited push, am soon tearing down the slope like a skinned cat on a Teflon slippery dip. Yeeeeeha!

We’re three days into a week-long break on Moreton Island, and my senses are overwhelmed by what must surely be Queensland’s most underrated family island-holiday destination. Everyone’s heard of Fraser, the Whitsundays gets plaudits aplenty, even Stradbroke – North and South – are on the travel radar. But Moreton – in the bay of the same name, which is better known for its eponymous bugs served at seafood restaurants countrywide – barely registers a blip outside the Sunshine State. This is despite the island lying just 75 minutes by ferry from Brisbane and boasting a swag of culturally and ecologically significant features and exciting eco experiences to boot.

Moreton Island is the third largest sand island in the world after Fraser and nearby North Stradbroke. It was once the site of the largest land-based whaling station in the southern hemisphere and a strategic defence post during the world wars. Today, the island is popular for whale watching and home to the world’s largest concentration of dugongs and turtles close to a metropolitan centre. It’s also one of the world’s few places where you can handfeed wild dolphins.

Dolphin feeding is a nightly spectacle at theisland’s only resort, Tangalooma. We join the crowd just after sunset, wading into the shallows by the jetty, proffering fish that are soon plucked from our hands by smiling bottlenose. Dolphins have been coming to shore to feed here for more than 20 years.

Wildlife is a big part of the Moreton Island experience; 98 per cent of the island is national park and Moreton Bay is a designated marine park. At the Tangalooma Marine Education and Conservation Centre, eco rangers share their knowledge of local species, holding barefooted audiences captive with daily wild pelican and kookaburra feeds.

Just north of the resort lie the TangaloomaWrecks, a cluster of old dredges and barges scuttled by the Queensland Government over three decades to create safe anchorage for small boats. The 15 wrecks are just off the beach, but there’s a strong current and we opt for a boat excursion and guided snorkel. Underwater, curtains of tiny fish sway in the current, flashes of trevally catch in the sunlight and diamondfish thread through the decay. A wobbegong shark shelters in the shadows on the seabed and, as we clamber aboard the boat, a pod of dolphins frolics by. You can view the wrecks from a transparent kayak or from the air during a helicopter joy flight. There are also Segway and quadbike tours.

Moreton Island is the kind of place you canvisit and do nothing at all. The beach at Tangalooma is among the best you’ll find anywhere; the water is calm and as superlative-inducing as the sun sets over the bay. There are two swimming pools, a spa, seven styles of accommodation for most budgets, two restaurants, a bar and cafe. We have a two-storey, two-bedroom waterfront villa. It’s basic with no aircon but has a fully equipped kitchen and five-star views. During the day the grounds are patrolled by long-legged curlews with eerie cries, and at night sugar glider possums leap between the palm trees.

When we’re not snorkelling, tobogganing, flopped on the beach or swimming, we’re at the cafe licking ice-cream and the head off a beer (a late afternoon ritual). One day we hire a 4WD to explore the island. It’s expensive ($365) but a thrilling adventure that takes us across a bush track to the eastern side where exposed ocean

D E S T I N A T I O N ® Q U E E N S L A N D

Snorkelling on the wrecks at Tangalooma, sand boarding down 35m dunes, swimming, diving or handfeeding wild dolphins, there’s never a dull day on Moreton Island.

P I C T U R E : S U P P L I E D

bites at our tyres. We head to the island’s northernmost tip and visit Queensland’s oldest lighthouse, Cape Moreton, built in 1857. We ogle at Instagrammable Honeymoon Bay and take a dip in the Champagne Pools, where water from the Pacific Ocean cascades over rocks into a sandy swimming hole. The volcanic rock and sandstone here are an anomaly as all but 2 per cent of the island is sand.

Moreton is known for its underground freshwater springs, and we plan to visit the biggest, Blue Lagoon, but summer storms have sparked a scrub fire, and the access road is closed. Instead, we rumble south past the Rous Battery WWII relics to Mirapool Lagoon, a deep inlet protected from the ocean by a large sandbank. We snorkel and have the place to ourselves. It’s late in the day when we head inland back to the west coast to race the rising tide. We pass mangrove forests and towering dunes then hit the tidal flats, platoons of dark soldier crabs shifting on the sand.

The day-trippers depart and the island settles into peaceful twilight.

When we leave I’ve got sand in my shorts andbruises from tobogganing – money can’t buy those souvenirs.

T A N G A L O O M A W R E C K S

ALL ABOARD A WILD ISLE

C A T H E R I N E B E S T

Prepare for an underrated island toleave you breathless

GETTING THERELaunch transfers from Brisbane’s Holt Street

Wharf, Pinkenba, run four times a day and cost $80 return for adults and $45 for children.

STAYING THEREEntry-level hotel rooms at Tangalooma Island

Resort start from $209 a night. Beachfront villas cost from $399 a night but keep an eye out for

specials (we paid $179 off-season).

MOREtangalooma.com.au

M O R E T O N I S L A N D

E S C A P E R O U T E

Prices are departing Melbourne, per person, twin share, inclusive of pre-payable taxes and for new bookings only. Valid for sale until 13JUN18 or until sold out. Please consult our website for travel dates and for full terms and conditions. Spacifi ca Travel is a division of Wave Hospitality Group Pty Ltd, an accredited travel agency and member of the International Air Transport Association. (IATA). Images courtesy of Norfolk Island Tourism.

Ph 1800 800 722Visit www.spacif icatravel.com

YOUR HOLIDAY INCLUDES: CREST APARTMENTS

$1399SAVE $680

Self-contained one bedroom apartments only minutes from World Heritage Kingston.

SOUTH PACIFIC RESORT HOTELCentrally located hotel on a brief walk from the main township. BONUS: Includes breakfast

$1499SAVE $950

ALOHA APARTMENTS$1529

SAVE $840

Self-contained one bedroom apartments located in the heart of town.

TINTOELA OF NORFOLK$2249

SAVE $1640

An unrivalled location overlooking the South Pacific Ocean.

n Return airfares flying Air New Zealandn 7 nights accommodationn 7 days car hire with full insurancen VIP on Island Conciergen Return airport transfersn Entry to the World of Norfolk Exhibitn Norfolk Language Classn Half day Orientation Tourn DIY History Tourn Wonderland by Night Shown Life as a Convict Tourn Pitcairn Pioneers Tourn Two Course Welcome Dinnern Bounty Pass with on-island shopping &

dining discounts

NORFolK ISLaNDHEaD SOUtH. FInD NoRTH.

AIR NEW ZEALAND SALE

HURRY! SALE ENDS WEDNESDAY!