Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

246
CHAPTER 5 . BRISBANE
A$308 (US$200) per night with a minimum 3-night stay; waterfront rooms from A$299 (US$194) per night
(no minimum stay). AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: 3 restaurants; poolside cafe; 10-lane heated pool; children’s
pool; golf driving range and putting green, free transfers to mainland golf courses; 2 tennis courts; 2 fully
equipped exercise rooms; spa; extensive watersports equipment rentals; bike rental; children’s programs and
1
⁄2-acre adventure playground; game room; tour desk; massage; babysitting; laundry and dry-cleaning service.
In room: A/C (waterfront units only, others have ceiling fans), TV w/pay movies, VCR, Fax, dataport,
kitchen, minibar (marine resort only), hair dryer, safe.
MORETON ISLAND
At more than 200 sq. km (77 sq. miles) in area, Moreton is the second-largest
sand mass in the world (after Queensland’s Fraser Island) and has the world’s
largest sandhill, Mt. Tempest. There are three settlements and the Tangalooma
Wild Dolphin Resort, where guests and visitors can take part in hand-feeding
a pod of wild dolphins, which come in to the jetty each evening. It’s an experience
for which they line up in great anticipation, but be warned—it is highly
regulated, you can’t touch the dolphins, and it’s over in a few seconds! Moreton
has some other claims to fame: You can visit the 41-hectare (102-acre) “desert”
and toboggan down the sand dunes. Or you can snorkel around the 12 wrecks
just north of the resort, and visit historic points of interest including the sandstone
lighthouse at Cape Moreton, built in 1857. A 4WD is essential for getting
around, but tours are run from the resort. Permits for access and camping
are available from National Park rangers and ferry operators.
GETTING THERE The high-speed catamarans Tangalooma Flyer and Tangalooma
Express (& 1300/652 250) leave Brisbane’s Pinkenba wharf at Eagle
Farm twice daily, at 10am and 5pm (10am and 2pm on Sat). The trip takes 75
minutes. Coaches pick up from Roma Street Transit Centre at 9am daily to connect
with the ferries and will pick up from city and Spring Hill hotels on
request. Return transfers leave Tangalooma Monday to Friday at 3:30pm and
Saturday at noon and 4:30pm. The return fare is A$56 (US$36) adults and
A$28 (US$18) children 3 to 14. The Combie Trader vehicular and passenger
ferry (& 07/3203 6399; www.moreton-island.com) departs from Scarborough
on the Redcliffe Peninsula for Bulwer daily except Tuesday. The trip takes about
2 hours and costs A$27 (US$18) adults, A$24 (US$16) students 16 and over,
and A$16 (US$10) children 5 to 15. The cost to take a four-wheel-drive and up
to five passengers is A$125 (US$81). Day trips operate on Saturdays
(11am–4pm) and cost A$20 (US$13) adults, A$12 (US$7.80) children 5 to 15,
and A$72 (US$47) for a family of four. Combie Trader also runs four-wheeldrive
trips to the island on Monday, Friday, and Sunday. The cost of A$85
(US$55) adults and A$60 (US$39) children under 14 includes the ferry crossing,
tour, and lunch. Timetables are subject to change so check first.
WHERE TO STAY
Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort Kids Once the Southern Hemisphere’s
largest whaling station, Tangalooma is the only resort on Moreton
Island. The resort’s big attraction is the pod of wild dolphins that comes into the
jetty each evening. Guests are guaranteed one chance during their visit to handfeed
the dolphins; but you can’t swim with, or touch, the dolphins. The feeding
is regulated for the health of the pod, and your turn is over in a few seconds.
Tangalooma is a good base for exploring the rest of the island, and a variety of
tours are available, among them seasonal (late June to Oct) whale-watching
cruises for A$95 (US$62) adults, A$55 (US$36) children. A dolphin research
center is also based here. In the past year, 96 new hotel rooms have been added