A dolphin-shaped Lake on a dolphin-shaped island
Tangalooma is the Gateway to Dolphin Lake, Moreton Island
A new kind of dolphin found from the sky
A lake on Moreton Island has found a new lease of life after a group of Chinese visitors to Tangalooma Island Resort, realised it resembled the shape of a wild dolphin. Tangalooma is world renowned for its family of hand-fed wild dolphins that visit the resort's beach each night.
Chinese visitors often refer to Tangalooma as 'Haitundao' which translates to Dolphin Island. This is can be attributed to the nightly dolphin feeding guests enjoy at the resort, and also because Moreton Island also shares its shape with that of a dolphin. However, the revelation that the lake formation at Dog Creek was also shaped like a dolphin took everyone by surprise, and had resort staff and guests suddenly buzzing with excitement.
The new perspective on the lake emerged when Ms Li Yuan, a tour leader with Henan China Travel Service Group, shared a photograph of the lake after returning from a helicopter scenic tour of the island.
Ms Li said the chance encounter transpired, only after she had posted the photograph on her WeChat and Weibo sites when her group promptly began calling it 'Dolphin Lake'.
"I didn't notice the shape of the lake at all. I just thought it was a nice shot so I shared it," Ms Li said. "Almost immediately, members of my group became excited by what they saw - the shape of a dolphin."
Word spread quickly, with bookings for the helicopter scenic flights from Tangalooma Island Resort tripling since the photo went viral.
Chopper pilot, Mr Clayton Stephens said visitors were already queuing up for flights to see Dolphin Lake, and with more than 4,000 Chinese guests expected at the resort over the Chinese New Year holiday, more helicopters will be brought in to cope with the demand.
"We expect to have a chopper in the air every minute of the day," Mr Stephens said.
Ms Li said the view of the island from the air was spectacular and the photo was just one of the amazing images captured of the island, Tangalooma ship wrecks and real marine animals below.
When asked which was better, hand feeding the wild dolphins from the Tangalooma beach or inadvertently renaming the lake, Ms Li was resolved.
"Both were amazing!" she said."I think Tangalooma is a unique and special place because of its dolphins. But, for all their lives, our guests will have very special memories of the day that we renamed this special place Dolphin Lake."