Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay is an easily accessible holiday destination about three and
a half hours drive from Brisbane. It started a series of small towns
along the coast, but during the 1970s it started to become popular as a
tourist and retirement area and now the towns have merged together.
Hervey Bay has a population of about 55,000 and is one of the fastest
growing towns in Queensland and Australia.
The area has a very pleasant warm subtropical climate with summer
maximums of around 30 degrees and winter maximums around 22 degrees.
Most of the annual rain occurs in summer from December to February.
Hervey Bay is a popular point to visit nearby Fraser Island, the
world’s largest sand island and a truely great outback Australian
family four wheel drive adventure. It is also known as the whale
watching capital of Australia, as since whaling stopped in the 1960s it
is a fantastic place to view the regular migrations of humpback whales
on their 11,000 kilometre journey between Antarctica and the Great
Barrier Reef.
The whales give birth in the warm waters of north Queensland and
mothers and calves will stop at Hervey Bay to rest and give the calves
time to develop a protective layer of blubber before they return to
Antarctica. They start arriving from late July, and may be seen until
November, with August to mid-October being the main period, when as
many as 30 whales can be seen in the bay. I find the best way to view
these whales is from a sailing boat. We were lucky enough to meet the
owner of Blue Dolfin Yacht Charters Peter, Peter and his crew are the
best informed whale tour guides in the busness.
As well as having the best humpback whale watching in the world, Hervey
Bay has 14 kilometres of golden beaches. We find these beaches are safe
for children, as they are protected by Fraser Island. The waters are
home to turtles, dolphins and dugongs as well as whales. In addition to
joining a whale-watching cruise there are other attractions to visit
such as animal museums and parks including Hervey Bay Nature World,
Neptune's Reef World, and Vic Hislop's Great White Shark Expo.
Hervey Bay is also a great wheel chair frendly area, there are
numerious walking paths around the beaches. Most of these are suitable
for wheelchair travel. You will also be able to wheel around the marina
and maybe even do some fishing.
Urangan Pier is a great spot for fishing and there are places offering
diving courses which are handy if you are going to the Great Barrier
Reef.
Next time you are after a getaway, no matter what your interests, your
age group or the season, you can enjoy the experiences and natural
beauty of Hervey Bay.
Hervey Bay is also a great place to launch from to visit Fraser Island,
you will be able to rent a 4WD and all the gear you'll require.
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