One of the funnest things in life is going out on day trips, because you're getting to explore somewhere new and amazing but still ending up in your own bed at the end of the night. This week I went on two day trips (Two days in a row, so the third day was mostly spent avoiding the 33 degree heat and laying on the couch binge watching Haunting of Hill House on Netflix).
Shorncliffe/Sandgate area and Morton Bay were my new realms of discovery this week and they were both amazing. Shorncliffe is roughly a 45 minute train journey North from Brisbane, so it's not that hard to get to. Especially when I live right beside one of Brisbane's many train stations. It's definitely worth the trip with the beautiful pier and promenade, three lagoons and nice little cafes along the water front. There's a giant children's swim park as well which is amazing to see - I'm not used to outside things since warm for Scotland is about 15 degrees. With such ease to get there and some amazing views, it was worth the trip however there was a secret motive. My brother had been dying for some fish and chips for ages! There's no better place to have fish and chips than by the sea side really, so it was the perfect excuse to head out of town. There were some really cute little cafes along the promenade but we ended up at one halfway down which served the usual fish and chip shop style things and some ice cream.
The look of joy on my brothers face when he got the fish and chips was like a child at Christmas. There was nothing on the menu that was meat free so I quite happily opted for the small portion of chips for only $4. To my amazement the small portion of chips serves two adults, so needless to say my brother had a few as well.
Going to Morton Island was one of the top three days I've had since arriving in Australia four months ago. The scenery of this Bay is out of this world beautiful and I almost didn't feel like I was in Australia anymore; I had magically drifted off to somewhere else in the 1 hour 20 minute ferry ride over. The ferry terminal is a bit of trek out of Brisbane if you don't have a car, so we had to leave pretty early in the morning. When we arrived at the terminal we checked in and got our boarding passes and vouchers for the day. There is so much to do on Morton Island that it is hard to choose just one or two activities. There's a resort called the Tangalooma Resort which is where we went and who we did our activities with. For $149 we got our ferry ride out to the resort and back, full access to the facilities all day, a free drink on the ferry ride over (and that early grey tea was greatly appreciated by 10am), a chance to watch the wild dolphin feeding at night, a snorkel tour of the fifteen tangalooma ship wrecks and a $20 voucher to spend on the resort for lunch/dinner.
I think over all that the money you pay for this day trip is so worth it! Getting the free drink and food meant that I didn't really have to worry too much about spending money when I got to the island. The resort is limited in it's choices but even still, there's something for everyone. The snorkel tour was naturally the best part of the day. You were going around the wrecks, through small openings and discovering little fish tank areas where all the fish hang out. There were mass schools of fish everywhere and my favourite parrot fish from the great barrier reef were there as well. It doesn't feel like the tour takes very long, but it's just because you're having so much fun in the water. If you're not a confident swimmer, you could definitely still do the tour. You have to wear a wet suit whilst at the wrecks because the corals that have grown over the years are extremely sharp, so you don't want to accidentally rub up against them. With how close you get to the wrecks that is a definite possibility. You also can wear a life jacket if you don't feel that comfortable in the water yourself and you can even go one step further and stay with your tour guide. The guide has an orange life ring with him all the time which you can hold on to and be guided around the water.
The wrecks are about a 45 minute walk down the beach from the main resort area so you get a boat out and back again. After doing the snorkel tour (and having that free lunch of ours) we decided to walk back along the beach to the wrecks again. Walking along was so much fun; the water is super clear, there's small fish near the waters edge as well as starfish. We also found some more pelicans just past the wrecks which kept trying to run away from us.
After our walk along the beach and back again, we headed to the coffee shop which has a delicious range of cakes, sandwiches and ice cream. We had wanted ice cream at Shorncliffe but opted to save it for the sunset on Morton Island so that's exactly what we did. The ice cream at Morton Island was pretty delicious and it was a good choice to wait until sunset to have it. Any other time of the day and I think it would have melted way before I had gotten the chance to even taste it.
At the end of the night, there is also the chance to watch wild dolphins being fed (or be the one to feed them). There was a baby dolphin that came up to the jetty when we were there, which I've never seen before especially not in the wild. It was the perfect way to end the perfect day.
Of course if you're not interested in going snorkelling at the wrecks then there are plenty of other activities for you to choose from. 4WD on one of the biggest sand dunes in Australia, toboggan down those sand dunes, transparent kayaking at the wrecks, paddle boarding and parasailing. The resort has the chance to go fishing, helicopter rides and there's a spa. There is literally so much to do that it's the perfect place to head out for a day trip or a good couple of days to make the most of the activities.
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| Sandgate Promenade |
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| Sandgate Pier |
The look of joy on my brothers face when he got the fish and chips was like a child at Christmas. There was nothing on the menu that was meat free so I quite happily opted for the small portion of chips for only $4. To my amazement the small portion of chips serves two adults, so needless to say my brother had a few as well.
Going to Morton Island was one of the top three days I've had since arriving in Australia four months ago. The scenery of this Bay is out of this world beautiful and I almost didn't feel like I was in Australia anymore; I had magically drifted off to somewhere else in the 1 hour 20 minute ferry ride over. The ferry terminal is a bit of trek out of Brisbane if you don't have a car, so we had to leave pretty early in the morning. When we arrived at the terminal we checked in and got our boarding passes and vouchers for the day. There is so much to do on Morton Island that it is hard to choose just one or two activities. There's a resort called the Tangalooma Resort which is where we went and who we did our activities with. For $149 we got our ferry ride out to the resort and back, full access to the facilities all day, a free drink on the ferry ride over (and that early grey tea was greatly appreciated by 10am), a chance to watch the wild dolphin feeding at night, a snorkel tour of the fifteen tangalooma ship wrecks and a $20 voucher to spend on the resort for lunch/dinner.
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| Morton Island |
I think over all that the money you pay for this day trip is so worth it! Getting the free drink and food meant that I didn't really have to worry too much about spending money when I got to the island. The resort is limited in it's choices but even still, there's something for everyone. The snorkel tour was naturally the best part of the day. You were going around the wrecks, through small openings and discovering little fish tank areas where all the fish hang out. There were mass schools of fish everywhere and my favourite parrot fish from the great barrier reef were there as well. It doesn't feel like the tour takes very long, but it's just because you're having so much fun in the water. If you're not a confident swimmer, you could definitely still do the tour. You have to wear a wet suit whilst at the wrecks because the corals that have grown over the years are extremely sharp, so you don't want to accidentally rub up against them. With how close you get to the wrecks that is a definite possibility. You also can wear a life jacket if you don't feel that comfortable in the water yourself and you can even go one step further and stay with your tour guide. The guide has an orange life ring with him all the time which you can hold on to and be guided around the water.
After our walk along the beach and back again, we headed to the coffee shop which has a delicious range of cakes, sandwiches and ice cream. We had wanted ice cream at Shorncliffe but opted to save it for the sunset on Morton Island so that's exactly what we did. The ice cream at Morton Island was pretty delicious and it was a good choice to wait until sunset to have it. Any other time of the day and I think it would have melted way before I had gotten the chance to even taste it.
At the end of the night, there is also the chance to watch wild dolphins being fed (or be the one to feed them). There was a baby dolphin that came up to the jetty when we were there, which I've never seen before especially not in the wild. It was the perfect way to end the perfect day.
Of course if you're not interested in going snorkelling at the wrecks then there are plenty of other activities for you to choose from. 4WD on one of the biggest sand dunes in Australia, toboggan down those sand dunes, transparent kayaking at the wrecks, paddle boarding and parasailing. The resort has the chance to go fishing, helicopter rides and there's a spa. There is literally so much to do that it's the perfect place to head out for a day trip or a good couple of days to make the most of the activities.
I can't think of a more perfect day than Morton Island, so I'm very thankful that I decided to take the trip out there in my last couple of months in Queensland.
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