Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay region is off the coast of Brisbane, in South East Queensland. It is the northernmost city of the five cities in Greater Brisbane. The primary population centre in Moreton Bay is Redcliffe, aka the Redcliffe Peninsula, a sleepy seaside town 45 minutes drive north of the Brisbane CBD.

Understand

The major islands of Moreton Bay includes Bribie, Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands. There are also a number of smaller islands including St Helena, Peel, Macleay, Lamb and Russell Islands. Moreton Bay also includes some bayside suburbs of Moreton Bay Regional, Brisbane City and Redlands City Councils.

The primary settlement, Redcliffe was the first European settlement in Queensland. It was colonized in Queensland in 1824 by Europeans.

However, not all of Moreton Bay is coastal. Some places like Samford Valley hold beautiful country rolling green hills, bushwalking trails, a historic hamlet with lots of rural cafes, shops, museums, heritage buildings and a beautiful country tavern.

Get in

Moreton Bay is 23 km north of Brisbane. The easiest way to arrive in Moreton Bay is to drive.

Public transport from Brisbane is an option via the Redcliffe Peninsula or Caboolture line trains and connecting buses.

Get around

By bus

In Redcliffe, the bus services are connected to Brisbane's Translink system. If you have a Go card to travel around Brisbane you'll be able to use to get to and around Redcliffe. The local bus services however tend to be a bit slow and take winding routes.

The local bus services do go throughout the peninsula on a regular basis. They also extend to Chermside, Caboolture and Brisbane CBD.

For those not in a hurry walking is a very pleasant option for transport around the peninsula and almost everywhere interesting can be accessed via a walk along the beach. Similarly for cyclists.

See

• The many monuments around, including the ANZAC memorials and John Oxley memorial.
• The Redcliffe Historical Society Museum, which gives visitors an insight into Redcliffe's rich historical background.
• The seaside, for which Redcliffe has been famous for nearly 185 years.
• The city of Redcliffe at night during the Christmas season when all the trees are lit up with different coloured fairy lights and can be spotted kilometers away.
• The Gayundah shipwreck, which is dangerous to climb on, but wonderful to admire from a small distance.
• 1 Samford District Historical Museum, 21 Station St, Samford Village, ☏ +61 7 3289 2743. Local history museum. (updated Sep 2021)
• 2 Bribie Island National Park. (updated May 2022)
• 3 Bee Gees Way, Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe. A walkway honouring the music group Bee Gees, with lots of statues and photos of the music group. It goes for about 70 metres, and was erected as Redcliffe was their first home when coming to Australia. (updated May 2022)
• 4 Margate Beach. (updated Aug 2024)

Do

• Whale watching- From June to November, humpback whales can be sighted in the waters in and surrounding Moreton Bay as they migrate along the Queensland coast. There are many specialised whale watching tours that run throughout the whale watching season.

Buy

• 1 Westfield North Lakes, N Lakes Dr, North Lakes. Westfield North Lakes is a large shopping center with 280 stores including a Woolworths, Coles and Target. (updated May 2022)

Eat

Eat out at many of the nice restaurants that are mostly found on the coastal areas of Moreton Bay. Barbecue facilities are found at all of the parks, even those not found on the beach. The Redcliffe Parade area is very trendy and boasts cool breezes, a great view to Moreton Island and many coffee shops.

• 1 Marcello's, Sutton St, Redcliffe, ☏ +61 7 3284 2312. Italian restaurant. (updated May 2022)
• 2 The Rustic Olive, 79 Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe, ☏ +61 7 3889 3199. Italian restaurant. (updated May 2022)

Sleep

Hotels are mostly found on the coastal part of Redcliffe with some in Caboolture.

Redcliffe is a very relaxed place to stay. Most overnight accommodations consist of guesthouses and holiday accommodations. Overnight is available in many of the high rise apartments.

Scarborough, on the northern part of the Redcliffe Peninsula, is a great place to look, with coffee shops and restaurants too.

• 1 Samford Hotel, Main St, Samford Valley, ☏ +61 7 3289 1212. (updated Sep 2021)