west side of Moreton

G'day Rob,

I suppose first up it depends on which barge you go over on. We use the Micat from the mouth of the Brisbane River and it drops you off at the Tangalooma wrecks. Its pretty luxurious and takes about an hour and a half to get there.

The other barge is the Combie Trader and it runs from Scarborough to Bulwer.

Given that you are camping on the calm water side I can comment on Ben Ewa and Comboyuro campgrounds. There is another small campground at the wrecks but I have never stayed there.

Ben Ewa is about 1.5 klicks north of where the Micat will drop you near the Tangalooma Wrecks. It is a small campground with septic toilets and cold showers and water on tap. It is set behind the dunes and is a very short walk from the campground to the water. At a guess I would say there are about a dozen sites or so on one side and then the back side is occupied by a semi permananet setup for backpackers. If the tide is high there is a small access road that runs beside the beach which can make the going a bit easier. When driving into this campground travel in an anticlockwise direction as there is an ugly hill to get around and it is best taken going downhill.

The other campgound is Comboyuro and it is very close to where the Combie Trader will drop you off near Bulwer. It has the same facilities but is a lot bigger and can cope with a large number of campers. Again it is very close to the water with some sites giving a view of the bay.

There is also beach camping allowed in places along the calm water side but these have no facilities, but they can allow you to set up and have a beautiful view all to yourself.

As yet there are no prebookings being taken for Moreton so sites are a on a first come basis. In the next couple of months they are going to online bookings which means you won't be able to just show up and get a site. I believe they are implementing the same booking system as they have at Freshwater etc.

Good spots in front of the campgrounds to nail a few good flathead and whiting.

Only fuel is at Bulwer and this is where the small shop is also for your other needs. The guy at Kooringal I am led to believe is no longer licenced to sell fuel.

Digital phone coverage is OK near the resort but patchy at best elsewhere so can't be relied on.

Usual story in that the sand can get a bit chopped up at the on/off ramp to the barge but correct tyre pressures, gear selection and momentum will generally keep you pretty safe.

It is a top spot so enjoy your trip.

Rob,

Once you pass Ben Ewa campground heading North from the barge there are some good spots between there and the Bulwer wrecks. The only spot I don't think you will find any spots is the part of the beach in front of the settlement of Cowan as beach access is closed in this section and you have to take a bypass road off the beach.

Keep an eye out for signs that say whether it is OK to beach camp there or not and if in doubt have a yarn to the rangers. Their office is only a few hundred metres south of Ben Ewa on the side access road that runs next to the beach.

Hope this helps.

Hi Robak,

If you must camp on the West side I recomend CB 7, all of the beach camping areas are numbered from CB 1 -15. Every time I've been over there it has been taken though, but you never know your luck. You can get mobile phone coverage outside CB 13 (don't ask me how, but you do).

You have been to Moreton before so you know what to expect, but if you haven't camped at yellow patch I recommend it. There is a freshwater lagoon about 100 metres long by 20 metres behind the camping area which is great for getting the salt water off. I have a 2 and a 1 y.o, both boys and I have found this area excellent. The beach is really wide with 2 shallow salt water lagoons at low tide. You are cut off from the rest of the island at high tide so there usually no traffic for 1 hour either side of high tide. If your visitors must go and use a conventional toilet there are some 1 km away at the North point camping area.

Johno