We spent just a tad over two months in Hervey Bay and with so much coastline and awesome sailing conditions we enjoyed every minute of our time here. Sailing opportunities abound, whether a short sunrise or sunset sail, or perhaps a day, overnight or weekender – there’s ample places to go. We predominantly headed for the north west and west coast of Fraser Island, Great Sandy National Park, where there are good anchorage spots.
Some ideas to get you started:
- Big Woody Island
- Platypus Bay
- Rooney Point
- Coongul Point
- Moon Point and Moon Point Bank
- Arch and Triangle Cliffs
- Wathumba Creek.
Just a few extra points about Wathumba Creek. This is a drying lagoon anchorage so enter and leave at high tide. Great for multihulls and boats that can take the bottom, excellent all round protection.
You can also anchor near, and tender into, Kingfisher Bay Resort. As a bonus you are welcome to use resort facilities, the only ‘cost’ is that you reciprocate in some way by buying a meal or having some drinks there.
Whale watching is hugely popular in the waters of Hervey Bay between the months of April – October. Each year these amazing creatures travel long distances from cold feeding areas in Antarctica, to warm, shallower waters such as those along the east coast of Australia to breed and calve. We arrived in Hervey Bay toward the end of the ‘whale’ season, however we didn’t miss out, sighting 2 -3 whales frolicking around on a couple of weekend sails.
Just a heads-up regarding tourist boats at this time of year. There are a number of tourist boats that operate out of the Great Sandy Straits Marina and the Boat Club Marina. Most offer full day and half day packages and are extremely popular. As such the main channel into the marinas can be very busy, and tourist boat operators can be quite ‘assertive’ as they move through what is a relatively narrow channel. We often heard boaties on the receiving end of their displeasure over the VHF radio! So, if you are using the marinas or fuel docks just be mindful, patient and make sure you are on the right side of the channel 😊. (We tended to avoid leaving or arriving at certain times in the day to avoid them).
If you are planning a trip north of Brisbane, we would highly recommend taking some time out to explore the waters and surrounds of Hervey Bay.