Holiday houses in Moreton Island

There’s a reason Moreton Bay is one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia: it really is that enticing. The seaside towns here are the gateway to 360 islands, big and small, from North Stradbroke (Minjerribah) — an incredibly sacred place to the local Indigenous community — to sandy Moreton Island, where dramatic dunes tumble down to the intense surf breaks of the Coral Sea on its east coast, and the clear waters of the calm bay on its west. The latter, a body of water just offshore from Brisbane, is a protected marine park for dolphins and harmless wobbegong sharks, visible on snorkeling or diving expeditions amid Moreton Island’s famed Tangalooma shipwrecks.

There’s no bad time to visit this beautiful pocket of Queensland. Even in winter (June through August), average daytime temperatures remain above 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer (December through February) is peak season, when vacationers flock here to make the most of the epic surf and gorgeous tropical sunshine, which heats the region’s days to an average 82 degrees. During fall (March through May) you’re almost guaranteed blue skies and balmy waters — in fact, year round, water temperatures fluctuate only from 72 to 75.

Cape Moreton Lighthouse

The island’s west coast beach road passes by small towns Cowan Cowan and Bulwer before leading to the Cape Moreton Lighthouse at the northernmost tip. This was the first of its kind in Queensland, and it’s an ideal place to watch the sunset while dolphins, turtles, manta rays, dugongs, and migrating humpback whales (May through November) are playing offshore. For an even closer perspective, join sunset cruises around the bay. Nearby you’ll find Moreton’s Champagne Pools, natural ocean pools transformed into a saltwater bubble bath at high tide.

Tangalooma Wrecks

In the 1960s, 15 ships were scuttled in the turquoise waters of Moreton Bay in order to attract fish and grow coral. They achieved their goal. Today, the site is best explored with your head underwater, either snorkeling or on dive expeditions, swimming alongside turtles, wobbegongs, and a wild array of fish.