Moreton Bay: Brisbane's Island Playground

Moreton Bay's network of islands, sandbars, and protected waters provides Brisbane with a maritime playground that residents of other landlocked or ocean-exposed Australian cities do not have access to. The combination of North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Island, and the smaller Coochiemudlo and St Helena Islands within ferry distance of the city provides a diversity of island experience from the developed tourism infrastructure of Straddie to the virtually undeveloped wilderness of Moreton's central sand islands.

North Stradbroke Island, the world's second largest sand island, offers beach quality that compares with the Gold and Sunshine Coasts at lower crowd density and with an Indigenous cultural dimension provided by the Quandamooka people's connection to the island that adds depth to the visitor experience. The village at Point Lookout provides the services and accommodation that overnight visitors require, and the whale watching from Point Lookout headland during the migration season is among the most accessible in Australia.

Moreton Island's Tangalooma Island Resort combines accessible resort accommodation with activities including dolphin feeding, snorkelling over a deliberate wreck reef, and quad bike tours of the island's sand dune system. The resort's ferry service from Holt Street Wharf in Brisbane provides easy access without requiring private boat access, making the island a viable day trip option for families without boating experience.

The bay's fishing grounds are among the most productive accessible from a major Australian city, with snapper, bream, flathead, and pelagic species available to recreational anglers at distances that can be covered in a short boat trip from the river mouth. The fishing culture that has developed around Moreton Bay is a significant leisure economy, supporting bait shops, tackle retailers, charter operators, and the boating industry that equips the anglers.

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