Things to do

Camping and accommodation

Camping

Bribie Island National Park and Recreation Area provides a variety of coastal camping experiences, some accessible by four-wheel drive  (4WD) vehicles, others accessible by boat. You will need a vehicle access permit to travel to 4WD accessible camping areas.

Camping permits are required and fees apply. Camping permits for all camp sites must be obtained before you set-up camp (there is no self-registration on site). On-the-spot fines apply for camping without a permit.

• Find out more about Bribie Island National Park and Recreation Area camping areas.
• Book your camp site online.
• If you cannot book online, see camping bookings for other options.

Other accommodation

There is a wide range of holiday accommodation on Bribie Island. For more information see the tourism information links.

Walking

Get ready to explore Bribie Island's natural diversity and heritage. In this coastal environment it is important to protect yourself from the sun and biting insects—wear protective clothing, a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and insect repellent. Carry drinking water and a snack. Let a responsible person know where you are going and when you expect to return.

Bicentennial bushwalks

Grade 2

Distance: 3.8km return

Time: allow 1 hour

The Banksia, Palm Grove and Melaleuca Bicentennial bushwalks begin near the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre on Sunderland Drive.

Walk through eucalypt forests, paperbark wetlands and wallum heathlands. Rainbow bee-eaters, red-backed wrens and eastern yellow robins are some of the colourful birds you may encounter.

Fort Bribie Walk

Grade 2

Distance: 1.9km one-way

Time: allow 1 hour

This walk is located 1.3km north of the Fort Bribie day-use area.

Imagine a time when our life was threatened by war as you explore weathered gun emplacements and searchlight buildings, characteristic of the six-inch gun batteries used to defend Queensland’s coastline and Brisbane during World War II.

Driving

4WD access

4WD or six-wheel drive (6WD) vehicles with high clearance and low range function are essential for driving through the national park and recreation area, including on the beach. All-wheel drive vehicles without true 4WD function and vehicles with low clearance will have difficulty along inland tracks and in soft sand. Drivers should engage and stay in 4WD and adjust tyre pressure accordingly. Vehicles entering the national park and recreation area must be fully road registered.

24hr number plate surveillance cameras in use

All vehicles entering and exiting the recreation area will have their vehicle number plates recorded. Vehicle registration details are checked against the Queensland National Parks Booking Service and a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) will be issued to the registered owner of any vehicle that does not have a valid vehicle access permit.

A penalty of $500 applies for entering a recreation area without a valid vehicle access permit. This amount will increase each financial year from 1 July. To avoid receiving a PIN, ensure you purchase a vehicle access permit before entering the recreation area.

All camera footage obtained will be stored securely and only be viewed and accessed by authorised persons. The footage is retained in accordance with the Public Records Act 2002, which in most cases is 30–90 days, unless it is required for official purposes, or as a retained public record. For further information on our privacy and security practices visit the privacy page on the department's website.

A vehicle access permit must be purchased before driving in the recreation area. You can enter the recreation area from the northern end of White Patch Esplanade or from the Eighth Avenue car park off North Street, Woorim.

For more information see:

• Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras - FAQs (PDF, 178.3KB)

Hiring a vehicle or purchasing a vehicle with a vehicle access permit attached

On each occasion a rental vehicle is in a recreation area, the person who hired the vehicle for that occasion must be the person who applies for the vehicle access permit. The same applies if you have recently purchased a 4WD that has a vehicle access permit. Permits are not transferable, and you must purchase a vehicle access permit under your own name for the vehicle.

Beach driving

Beach driving conditions can be unpredictable. Before taking your vehicle onto the beach, make sure you are familiar with sand-driving techniques and have appropriate equipment.

Four-wheel drive tracks may be closed occasionally due to weather conditions, planned burned programs, logging operations and wildfires. Road condition signs are located at White Patch and Woorim park entrances.

To protect Bribie Island's fragile, narrow spit, vehicle traffic is prohibited 60m south of the southern gun emplacement. A regulatory sign also marks this location. On-the-spot fines apply for driving vehicles past this point.

For safety, entry through the centre of the island is restricted to the designated Poverty Creek access track and Northern access track. General access through pine plantations is not permitted. On-the-spot fines apply for driving vehicles on non-designated tracks in the park.

Sand-driving techniques

Engage four-wheel drive

• Lock freewheel hubs and use 4WD for driving on sand and other soft or slippery surfaces.
• Select low range second gear and keep up momentum for driving in soft, dry sand.
• Reduce your speed and avoid sharp turns and sudden braking.
• Adjust tyre pressures accordingly to improve traction in soft sand, but if you do, do not forget to re-inflate your tyres to resume speed on harder sand or surfaces. Keep within tyre manufacturer's specifications for tyre pressures.

Speed limits and road rules apply

Speed limits apply:

• 30km/h near camping areas, on inland roads and between the Ocean Beach access point at First Lagoon (Freshwater Creek) to 300m north of Second Lagoon (Norfolk Creek).
• 50km/h to all other beach travel.

Road rules apply and Queensland Police patrol this area regularly. Slow down near camping areas and obey speed limits.

• Wear seatbelts at all times.
• Never carry passengers outside the vehicle cabin.
• Keep to the left of oncoming vehicles at all times.
• Use indicators when overtaking or turning.
• Obey signs.
• Report a hoon.

Slow down when passing people, oncoming vehicles and wildlife

• Often the sound of the surf makes it difficult to hear approaching vehicles. Give a wide berth to people, especially children, shorebirds, wild dogs and other wildlife on the beach.

Stay on formed tracks

• All vehicles are prohibited on dune vegetation areas.
• When accessing beach camp sites, use designated access tracks to minimise damage to fragile plant communities and wildlife habitat. Ocean Beach camp site access tracks are signed with a letter symbol.
• Remove fallen trees or limbs rather than driving off the road to get around them and damaging living plants in the process.

Ensure your vehicle is mechanically sound

• Carry a tyre gauge, air pump, water, recovery track pads, a first aid kit and essential spares.
• Load your vehicle evenly and do not overload it.

Hazard areas

• Beach conditions change daily. Areas near the lagoons can be particularly hazardous in summer.
• During heavy periods of rain, the lagoons overflow, creating creeks across the beach—at times the drop off into these creeks can be deep.

Read more about driving on sand.

Boating and fishing

Pumicestone Passage's extensive tidal wetlands are essential breeding areas for many fish, crabs and prawns. During winter the passage between Bells Creek and Caloundra Bar is one of south-east Queensland's principal spawning areas for yellowfin bream. Flathead, bream, whiting, tailor and mangrove jack are often caught around Bribie Island. Many people catch sand and mud crabs during the summer months.

The passage is part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. Recreational fishing activities are permitted in the marine park, except in the Tripcony Bight – Long Island (MNP02) and Westaways Creek (MNP01) marine national park zones (see Moreton Bay Marine Park). Fishing, crabbing, bait collecting and other forms of harvesting are prohibited in these zones. Important habitats including mudflats, seagrass beds, mangroves, saltmarsh and claypan communities are protected here. For more information about maps, rules and permitted activities, visit qld.gov.au/MBMPzoning.

Dugong

The seagrass communities of Pumicestone Passage provide essential dugong food. Dugong populations are under threat of disappearing from some regions along the Queensland coast. Boat strike, entanglement and swallowed rubbish kill and injure many turtles, dugong and other marine animals. Please take care to minimise your impacts on dugongs and turtles.

• When boating over seagrass beds, take it easy and go slow for those below.
• Observe the Go slow areas (PDF, 5.8MB) for natural value zones at Tripcony Bight – Long Island (MNP02) and Westaways Creek (MNP01) marine national park zones.
• Use bait-disposal bags.
• Take plastic bags, nets, fishing line and rope ashore for safe disposal.

Watch out for algal bloom

Lyngbya majuscula is a toxic blue-green algae that occurs naturally in Moreton Bay. In recent years extensive algal blooms have resulted in large floating mats of Lyngbya and the accumulation of toxic material on beaches. Contact with Lyngbya can cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation. Blooms have occurred from late spring to mid-autumn. Check local conditions and avoid swimming or contact with debris on the beach when algal bloom is present.

Viewing wildlife

The Bicentennial bushwalks, which start from Sunderland Drive, pass through a variety of plant communities and offer good opportunities for birdwatching and photography.

Birdwatchers will enjoy the bird hide at Buckleys Hole Conservation Park. Over 190 different bird species have been recorded here. Access is via stairs at the end of The Boulevard, Bongaree.

If you see a marine animal stranding (of sick, injured or dead turtles, dolphins, dugongs, seals or whales), report it by using the free QWildlife app for iOS and Android, or call 1300 130 372 (press option 1).