Holiday houses in Hervey Bay

One of the world’s premier spots for whale watching, Hervey Bay is roughly halfway between Brisbane and Rockhampton on Queensland’s Fraser Coast. The bay sits on what’s known as the “humpback highway,” the annual procession of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales migrating from the Antarctic along the east coast of Australia to the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef for winter. Hervey Bay is the whales’ preferred stopover on their way north, as the waters here are sheltered from the open ocean by nearby Fraser Island.

On the return journey to the Antarctic, the calm waters of Hervey Bay serve as a nursery for calves and their mothers as well as juvenile humpbacks. These whales may linger for many days to gain strength before continuing south. The town of Hervey Bay is also a great base for forays into the rainforests, rainwater lakes, and long beaches of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Fraser Island and the surrounding Great Sandy Marine Park.

In subtropical Hervey Bay, late spring, summer, and most of autumn are hot and humid, with more rainy days from December to March than at other times of the year. The driest months are June and July, when you’ll enjoy warm winter days and brisk nights. While humpback whales stop in at Hervey Bay from early July, on their way north, and return south until November, the peak season for encountering whales in the bay is early August to late September. The Hervey Bay Whale Festival kicks off with a blessing of the fleet in late July, followed by the Hervey Bay Seafood Festival and the Whale Parade and Concert in early August.

Whale watching

Hervey Bay was named the world’s first Whale Heritage Site not only for its concentration of humpback whales (and pilot whales, pygmy sperm whales, false killer whales, and dolphins), but because tour operators here are committed to responsible, sustainable whale watching. You’ll have a wide choice of whale-watching expeditions, from large cruisers to smaller boats, including a sailing catamaran. Whichever option you choose, your skipper must passively wait for curious and often playful whales to approach the vessel.

Woody Island

This long, narrow island in the waters between the mainland and Fraser Island is known as Big Woody to locals. A haven for shorebirds and reef fish, it’s around 25 minutes by boat from the marinas at Urangan. Take a tour boat from Hervey Bay to the island’s Jeffries Beach; from here there are hiking tracks along the shoreline to two abandoned 19th-century lighthouses.

Fraser Island

The largest sand island in the world is a short boat or barge ride from Hervey Bay. There are plenty of tour operators offering day trip options, from boat tours departing the marina and vehicle barges to scenic flights from Hervey Bay Airport.