Tangalooma, seaside resort on Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia
Tangalooma is a seaside resort on Moreton Island in Queensland, located just over an hour by ferry from Brisbane. The island features wide sandy beaches, calm waters, and deliberately sunken shipwrecks in shallow areas that have become artificial reefs attracting snorkelers and divers.
Tangalooma was a whaling station from 1952 to 1962, processing 6,277 humpback whales with a crew of about 140 during an eight- to ten-week winter season. Eastern Australian humpbacks fell from an estimated 10,000 to 500, and Australia banned humpback hunting in 1963. The station was then sold for resort development. Fifteen vessels were deliberately scuttled north of the resort between the 1960s and 1980s, including HMAS Bermagui and HMAS Uki.
The name Tangalooma is an Aboriginal word meaning "where the fish gather". Each evening at sunset a pod of up to 11 local bottlenose dolphins swims to the beach in front of the resort, where selected guests hand-feed them under supervision by the Tangalooma Marine Education and Conservation Centre. The Eco Centre, opposite the beach near the jetty, runs education programs and nature-based tours with Eco Rangers.
The resort is easily reached from Brisbane by ferry in about an hour, making it perfect for day trips or overnight stays. Visitors can explore the grounds on foot, book organized tours for snorkeling and whale watching, or simply enjoy the beaches and pools.
Fifteen vessels were deliberately scuttled north of the resort between the 1960s and 1980s, among them HMAS Bermagui and HMAS Uki. The hulls now shelter wobbegongs, sea turtles and over 200 species of fish, and give boats a sheltered anchorage. The 2002 Scooby-Doo film used the resort as "Spooky Island".
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