7 minute read
BEST OF THE BAY!
FAMILY FRIENDLY DAY TRIP FROM BRISBANE TO THE BAY ISLANDS
Recently we took the kids out to snorkel the Tangalooma shipwrecks on a day trip with a company called River to Bay. Right up front I need to let you know that our trip was hosted by the company, but as always, our review is an honest account of our experience. If snorkelling the Tangalooma wrecks has been on your bucket list for ever read on my friend. This article is going to show you just how easy it is and how much fun you will have on this exciting day trip from the Brisbane River. River to Bay is the result of a long-held dream to connect the people of Brisbane and the city’s river to the attractions of Moreton Bay and its islands. River to Bay entered a partnership with the Queensland Government to build a fleet of fast tour boats. Their boats are large enough to provide safety and comfort but small enough to travel the river at high speed with minimal impact to the environment. River to Bay is locally owned and operated.
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WHAT DO RIVER TO BAY OFFER?
If you jump on the River to Bay website, you will see that they offer a number of tours both on the Brisbane River and into the Bay. Their river cruises include sight-seeing tours and food and drink tours, and the bay tours they offer include the Tangalooma Day Cruise and the Best of Moreton Bay Cruise. We did the Best of Moreton Bay Cruise.
BEST OF MORETON BAY CRUISE
Here’s how it went:
8:00am – arrive Northshore Harbour Cafe
We arrived on time at the Northshore Harbour Cafe and grabbed a cup of coffee. If you don’t know about this lovely family friendly cafe, it has a playground next door, great food and a lovely atmosphere. It’s a great place for parents to catch up on weekdays too!
8:30am – depart Northshore Harbour
We boarded the boat with around 20 other people and listened to the safety briefing before we set off. We also were introduced to our crew – Zac, Ed and Thommo. During the trip over to the Tangalooma shipwrecks, Ed spoke to every person to ask a few questions about our swimming ability, any medical conditions they needed to know about and if there was anything we wanted to tell them. I told them I was a bit nervous about the snorkelling as I am pretty unfit and I worried about my ability to swim the length of the shipwreck. I had a fright on the Great Barrier Reef last year where I drifted out further than I expected and had to swim back to the boat… Ed reassured me that he would look after me. During the trip out we were given our wet suits, fins, masks and, if we wanted them, a pool noodle (I took one!). The trip over was smooth in terms of the *motion on the ocean*… indeed much smoother than I thought it would be! However, you still need to maintain 3 points of contact when moving about the boat! Families Tip: It is a good idea to arrive in your swimsuit and put your wet suit on during the boat trip over so that you maximise your time in the water.
Once we arrived, we picked up Andrew (another River to Bay staff member who had come over on the boat that leaves from Bribie Island) to help us navigate snorkelling the wrecks. He gave us the lowdown on what the wrecks are and what we will see, as well as how to navigate them.
10:00am–11:00am - Snorkel Tangalooma Wrecks
After listening to the talk we got our kit on (wet-suits, fins and masks) and jumped off the back of the boat into the water. We were there in October; the day temperature was 28 degrees, the water temperature was 22 degrees. The wet suits meant that we didn’t feel the cool of the water at all!
At this point I have to give a huge shout out to Andrew, who clearly had been told by Ed that I was nervous about being swept away by the current. Andrew offered to stay with me and took a life-ring with him that I could hold on to as HE navigated the wrecks with the group. He is an ABSOLUTE LEGEND for doing that. He did make it perfectly clear that he didn’t usually personally escort (read: tow unfit) people around the wrecks, but he could see I was nervous. Bless him for his kindness!! The shipwreck is amazing! I have seen it many times from afar and from the top of the water. Earlier in the year we did a glass bottom boat trip from Tangalooma to see it and feed the fish (you can read about that on our website), but I had always wanted to actually snorkel on the wreck – and I did… with the aforementioned help! You start the snorkel at one end of the wreck (depending on the tide and current) and snorkel your way with the group to the other end. You will see many, many fish and coral living in and on the wrecks. The boat meets you are the other end so you don’t have to swim all the way back again!
WHAT WILL YOU SEE DURING YOUR SNORKEL?
There is a section called the *Fish Tank* and another section called *The Oasis* that are home to so many fish that you will almost definitely come into contact with a few. You don’t need to try to touch them, they just are so chill about you being there that they swim near you, and you may contact them as you swim. As well as fish and coral, you could see turtles, wobbegong sharks and dugongs! Andrew told us he saw a whale and her calf on their way across the bay from Bribie on the other boat!
12:15pm–1:45pm - Stradbroke Island
After seeing all the wrecks it’s time to jet off to Little Ship Club for lunch on Stradbroke Island. Lunch is included in the price of your trip and was delicious. We chose the hamburgers, barramundi, fish and chips and chicken parmigiana – which was as big as my head! After lunch we went for a walk through the islands cemetery and tried to spot a koala, to no avail.
2:15pm–3:15pm - St Helena Island
After our stop at Straddie we got back on our boat and went over to St Helena Island. We were running a little behind time by this point, so it was a quick stop on the island. The crew gave us a talk with a little bit of the island’s history, and we got to look at some of the ruins. We didn’t get to see the actual main ruins/prison area as that was a bit too far away for us to get to on this trip.
4:00pm - Return to Northshore Harbour
After leaving St Helena Island. the weather, whilst still sunny with few clouds, got REALLY windy. I am not going to lie, while the trip out was super smooth, it was super bumpy on the way back. I was a bit scared of the bumping of the boat on the way back to the river. We hit a freak large wave and we were sprayed with water and saturated. Well, I was, as I was on that side of the boat. The journey back to enter the mouth of the river took around 45 minutes the bumps and waves made me nervous. Meanwhile the kids...
We arrived back at Northshore Harbour at 5pm.
THE NITTY GRITTY
The prices are $149 for adults, $119 for kids aged 3-13, or a family pass is available for two adults and two kids at $419, saving you $117. We have an exclusive Families Magazine discount code available for bookings made up to 13 March 2022. Save 20% off all tour options when you use FAMILIES20.
Book online at rivertobay.com.au.
Inclusions: Boat trip, wet-suits, masks, fins, pool noodles, lunch. They also had rain jackets available, which they offered us to protect us from wave spray on the way home. There is a small marine toilet on the boat. There are also toilets at the Stradbroke Island stop.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS TRIP TO FAMILIES?
Hand on heart I would recommend this trip as suitable for families with kids aged 3+, and best suited for those over 8 and/or confident swimmers.
It is well organised, safe, fun and will create great memories for years to come. 5 stars! Highly recommend.
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