The Pumicestone Passage
Bribie Island Boat Charters hires BBQ Boats and Fishing Boats from Spinnaker Sound Marina, just before the bridge to Bribie Island, for cruising up the Pumicestone Passage. The boats provide a great opportunity to take pleasure in one of the most picturesque bodies of water in Queensland.
North of the bridge, Pumicestone Passage extends the length of Bribie Island. This magical place is a must for visitors to South-East Queensland. Pumicestone Passage is a beautiful stretch of water, known internationally for its environmental significance. It is one of the most important bird and marine habitats on the east coast of Australia and is part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park.
Being on the water gives you the best chance of spotting dolphins, dugongs and sea-turtles and to enjoy the abundant bird-life around the Pumicestone Passage. You will also be entranced by the views of the Glasshouse Mountains the Passage affords when you take a BBQ boat or a fishing boat up the channel.
Fishing is great fun and the variety is huge – flathead in the creeks, whiting on the sandbars, snapper under the bridge and bream just about everywhere! Bribie Island Boat Charters hires fishing gear and sells bait and ice for your day out.
Banksia Beach and White Patch are great swimming spots; pull up in your boat and the kids can chase the soldier crabs along the sand or paddle at the water’s edge.
Further north are camp-sites along the shore. Some, such as Mission Point, can only be reached by boat, but are worth the effort. A chart on every boat shows the full range of more than 14 kms of Pumicestone Passage that Bribie Island Boat Charters vessels travel, in their exploration of fishing, fun and a fantastic day out!
Dugongs, dolphins, turtles, birdlife
The waters of Moreton Bay and the Pumicestone Passage are inhabited by one of the highest diversities of coastal and marine life. Moreton Bay Marine Park has the highest recorded diversity and abundance of dolphins in Australia. The resident species include the threatened Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, along with bottlenose dolphins. This is also the southern-most limit for humpback dolphins on the east coast of Australia. They are very reliant on the estuaries and sheltered waters of the Pumicestone Passage.
Dugongs (or ‘sea cow’) are large herbivorous marine mammals. Moreton Bay is the only place in the world where dugongs live so close to a major city. These shy and fascinating animals are dependent on seagrass beds and eat over 30kg of seagrass each every day! Dugongs have sleek, solid bodies and as adults can be up to 3 metres in length and weigh up to 600kg. They are long-lived mammals (around 70 years) and it takes dugongs 10 - 17 years to reach breeding maturity. Dugongs give birth to only one calf every 5 - 7 years. The calf will stay suckling from its mother for 1-2 years.
Six species of sea turtle have been recorded in Moreton Bay Marine Park including the Green, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Leatherback, Olive Ridley and Flatback. Moreton Bay Marine Park is one of the few places in the world where large populations of turtles are found so close to a capital city. This is one of the most important feeding areas for loggerhead turtles along the east coast of Australia. Seagrass meadows provide turtles with seagrass as well as shellfish, crabs, sea urchins and jellyfish that live in these meadows.
Moreton Bay Marine Park is internationally listed as a Ramsar wetland. This means that the Park provides vitally important feeding and roosting sites for migratory and resident shorebirds. Pumicestone Passage is home every year to nearly 20,000 migratory shorebirds, including the eastern curlew, the grey-tailed tattler and sooty oystercatcher. Many birds, some no bigger than a mouse, travel here from as far as Siberia and the Arctic circle along the East Asian - Australasian Flyway. Many shorebirds breed in the Passage. Others are simply passing through. Many birds rest here for the summer, feeding on small crabs, worms and molluscs in our mangrove-fringed channels, sandbanks and islands, before making the long migration back north. Find out more about our wonderful home - www.ourbribie.com.au
