Hervey Bay

As mentioned in a previous post, my son and I made a last minute decision to head up to Hervey Bay during the not too distant school holidays.

I booked our accommodation on the Sunday night and departed Brisbane for Hervey Bay on Monday morning.

By car, the journey is a comfortable 4 - 4.5 hours or 290 kms.  Lucky for us we started our drive after the morning rush hour traffic and made good time in getting out of the big smoke (if you've ever been to Brisbane, you know that's a furfy).

On the way up to Hervey Bay you by-pass small towns such as Gympie, Tiaro and Maryborough before finally reaching your destination.

Gympie is a regional town in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. It is about 160 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River which has periodically caused flooding in the town.

Tiaro is a small town on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Bruce Highway 27 kilometres south of Maryborough and 227 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane.

Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately 255 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is served by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000.

Once you've arrived there is a myriad of different activities to choose.  Here are some suggestions:

Between the months of July to November is the very popular whale watching season.  Hervey Bay is a mecca of activity during this season and whale watching cruises are available to cater for all budgets.

Visit the 'Discover Hervey Bay' website for more information.

Another excellent reason to visit Hervey Bay is to gain access to the very popular World Heritage listed Fraser Island.  Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the Southern Hemisphere and is accessible by 4WD vehicles only.  The Island has 2 eco friendly resorts, however is available for day trippers as well.  For more information visit this website.  Day tours are available for tourist short on time; however a longer stay is well worth it and can be arranged either in a group or individually.

For those tourists who just want to explore Hervey Bay there is plenty to see.  There are a myriad of shops, cafes and boutiques to explore along the esplanade.  Accommodation ranges from budget backpacker style to 5 star hotels.  If you have a little energy it is highly recommended that you hire a bike and ride the 18km bike path along the esplanade to take in the ocean views.

There are plenty of beaches for swimming, snorkelling, diving, fishing, kayaking, skiing or just boating.  The 'Reefworld Aquarium' showcases the finest selection of marine life Hervey Bay has to offer.

Hervey Bay also offers an abundance of golf courses, tours and cruises, scenic drives, nite-clubs, botanic gardens and don't forget the markets at the Whale Watch terminal located at the Urangan Marina held every Friday night 4-8 pm.

For something a little different experience Safari Camel Tours or Oz Trikes.

The Westside Water Education Park is a free activity the whole family can enjoy.  For a complete list of fun things to do in Hervey Bay visit the Discover Hervey Bay website here.

I highly recommend spending at least a week in Hervey and surrounding area.  We only stayed for 2.5 days and it definitely was not enough!  The only thing we got to experience was the beautiful Fraser Island.  We vowed to go back again but possibly during the whate watching season next time.

If anyone has experienced Hervey Bay or Fraser Island, please leave a comment or your own experiences.  Would love to hear them!




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Fraser Island

Early January while on holidays, I decided to take my son and myself for a long drive up the north coast of Queensland to Hervey Bay.

It was a very easy and pleasant 4 hour drive via the Bruce Highway to the idyllic seaside settlement of Hervey Bay.

The previous night I booked 4.5 * accommodation at the Ramada Hervey Bay right on the Esplanade through my trusty travel partner - lastminute.com.au.  I have now used this last minute accommodation booking service twice and I have to admit that both times I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality and price of the accommodation.

Possibly the only gripe my 11-year-old son had about the hotel was the lack of in-room WI-FI service.  During our first night at the hotel, they were also experiencing technical difficulties with their in-room cable TV and therefore we were only able to watch commercial channels and not pay-per-view (which my budget is thankful for anyway!).

The next day we ventured out to the beautiful Fraser Island and embarked on a guided group tour of this magnificent sand island.  Our tour was through Fraser Explorer Day Tours.  The day included courtesy pick up from your hotel in Hervey Bay, ferry across to Fraser Island, air-conditioned coach travel while on Fraser Island, buffet lunch and expert commentary about the island.

This tour was awesome and the lunch at the resort was delicious.  We also got to meet some very nice tourists from overseas and chatted while we ate.

The only disappointment during this tour was that we couldn't use the Resort swimming pool to cool off after walking on the scorching hot sand.

I've included further information about Fraser Island below, including some facts, historical information about the island and some do's and don'ts.

I would highly recommend a visit to Fraser Island, whether self-guided or fully-guided, it is a trip worth taking at least once in your life!

Fraser Island is situated just off the south Queensland coast opposite Hervey Bay. The island is about 120 kilometres long and between 5 and 25 kilometres wide.

Dozens of lakes, rainforest and huge sandblows cover vast parts of the island. People who visit Fraser Island for the first time often struggle to find the words to describe the beauty of this magical island. But also animal life, especially the 230 species of birds, Australia's purest dingo's and many other species contribute to the unique island environment.

Aboriginals of the Butchulla tribe have been living on Fraser Island for the last 5000 years. And because the abundance of food supplied by the sea, the lakes and the forest the number of inhabitants was quite high. 160 years ago about 2000 Aboriginals were living on the island. That changed dramatically when the island became an immigration- and quarantine post for ships that brought people and equipment for the gold fields in the area. forty years later there were only 150 tribe members left. These were taken off the island to reserves on the mainland.

Fraser Island was named after the British ship captain and his wife who were stranded on the island in 1836. The captain perished here but was survived by his wife who returned to England to tell their story. Prior to this time, the island was known as K'gari by the native inhabitants, the Butchulla people.

Not long after the island was discovered by the white settlers, so too were the beautiful rainforests and Fraser Island soon became a thriving logging community. Logging continued on the island until the late 1980's and as of December 1992 Fraser Island has been World Heritage Listed to preserve the unique environment.

As well as its beautiful rainforests, Fraser Island is also noted for its surrounding treacherous waters. The ferocity of these waters is evident in the magnificent shipwrecks that line the shores of the island. The most popular of these is the Maheno which was beached here in 1935 and has become as much a part of the island as the natural land formations.


The following information is from the Fraser Island - Queensland Bookings website.

Must Know

What to bring

Swimsuit, walking shoes, towel, sunscreen and camera

Important

Dingoes

Please keep your distance from the wild dingos and please do not feed them as they can be unpredictable and dangerous.

Camping

You will need a camping permit if camping on Fraser Island.

Your camping booking number is to be written on a camping tag and clearly displayed on the camping structure.

Please leave the area where you stop or stay tidy and exactly how you found it so that everyone can enjoy Fraser Islands natural beauty.

Camp fires may only be lit in communal fire rings provided.

Visitors are encouraged to bring and use their own fuel or gas camping stoves to help Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) in its attempts to reduce the high numbers of burn injuries related to open campfires. The policy on open campfires also aims to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by campfires and helps create a clean-air camping experience on Fraser Island.

Campers who want a campfire in the communal fire rings provided, must bring their own firewood. However it must be untreated, milled timber (e.g. mill off-cuts), not bush timber, as this reduces the risk of introducing foreign pathogens and other pests into the park. Visitors are reminded that all flora in protected areas, including dead trees or fallen limbs, is protected by law and therefore cannot be cut or collected.

Vehicles

You will need a vehicle access permit to drive a 4wd on Fraser Island.

All vehicles brought onto Fraser Island must have a current vehicle service permit (VSP).

The VSP booking number is to be written on a VSP tag and affixed to the windscreen of your vehicle.

Practice safe driving through the various sand tracks and do not exceed 80 km/h on the beach stretch.

You will only be able to drive 2WD vehicles around Kingfisher Bay Resort. All other parts of Fraser Island are only accessible with a 4WD vehicle.

Check your vehicle making sure it is in good working order and take spare parts eg. radiator hoses, spare wheels. Bring vehicle retrieving equipment in the case of your vehicle becoming stuck in the sand.

Other

The Island is far too large to see by foot.

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