Hervey Bay - Whale Watching

Hervey Bay is officially known as the whale watching capital of Australia, if not the world. This is so in part because it offers the world's closest whale watching encounters with the Humpback whales. Therefore, whale watching is a must do activity while we are at Hervey Bay.

There are several whale watching tour companies with various type of boats to choose from. A smaller boat or a yacht would have given us a different perspective of the whales, up close and personal. However, we opted for the Spirit of Hervey Bay. We thought it safer as we are going out to sea to see one of the largest sea mammals on earth. Also, we felt that the size of the boat might minimise the effects of motion sickness. As an added precaution, taking sea-sickness tablets before boarding the boat to sea is highly recommended for those more prone to motion sickness.

The humpback whale is the fifth largest of the great whales. Their large front flippers can reach a length of 5 metres, about one-third of their entire body length! They are named humpbacks because of the distinct ‘hump' that shows as the whale arches its back when it dives.

During the southern hemisphere winter and spring months, southern humpback whales migrate from the Antarctica to the sub-tropical coastal waters of western and eastern Australia and to Fiji to give birth and to mate.

Each year at least 1200 humpbacks migrate 5000km to the eastern coast of Australia. It is one of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom. Whale 'pods' start to arrive at the southern Great Barrier Reef in mid-June and in the following weeks they move further along the Great Barrier Reef concentrating in the southern Whitsundays area. On the southern migration back to Antarctic waters, a large proportion of the whales stop over for a few days in Hervey Bay. Most humpbacks however, will have left the Queensland coast by the beginning of November.

That being said, the official whale watching season in Hervey Bay starts in July every year. Over the weeks that follow the Humpback whales arrive in their hundreds so spend a relaxing time in Hervey Bay, taking advantage of the safe sheltered waters in Platypus Bay on the inshore side of Fraser Island. For more on the whales of Hervey Bay, click here.

The photos above shows the mother whale teaching its baby how to communicate; the breach, roll, flipper slapping, tail slapping and whale song.

Here's another interesting bit of information. Although similar migrations of the same species occur in the northern and southern hemispheres, the two populations never interbreed, even where they use the same equatorial breeding waters, because the northward and southward convergences on tropical waters occur six months apart. Whereas most migrating whales avoid land masses, the Humpbacks follow the coastline reasonably close to shore, which makes them an ideal.

The above photo on the right shows the mouth of a whale was taken by one of the boat crew. It's one of the up close and personal photo of a whale, next to the boat.

The following are some 2 - 3 minutes video of the humpback whales in action. Take note, you will hear the winds blowing and the cheers of the crowd watching.




Front flipper slapping.




Tail slapping and the enthusiasm of the baby whale learning this communication mode.

Hervey Bay - Township

Hervey Bay is situated approximately 290 kilometres north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland. It lies on the coast of a natural bay between the Queensland mainland and nearby Fraser Island.

It is this township geographical location that has two attractions that draw us to this region of Queensland, also known as the Fraser Coast Region. The bay for the Humpback whales and Fraser Island.

Hervey Bay is the whale watching capital of Australia, with humpback whales migrating along the coast between April and October every year. Fraser Island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world and it was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992.

Primarily for these attractions, Hervey Bay is served by its very own Hervey Bay Airport, with direct flights from Brisbane (QantasLink) and Sydney (Virgin Australia).

The whale watching tours centre is located at the Hervey Bay Marina. Tours to Fraser Island can also be arranged here, packaged with whale watching or as a separate activity.

Apart for the above, the township has a few other attractions. One in particular is very much a family orientated park with a message. The WetSide Water Education Park is a fun, free, eco-friendly public asset designed around water 'infotainment'. It features hundreds of spouts and jets, fountains interactive play equipment, water slides, surfing, special play area for under-5’s called TotSide, tipping buckets, music and a giant water screen.

The site also includes a coffee shop, viewing decks and boardwalks, educational displays, amenities blocks and the pay-per-use Board Rider wave machine.

Obviously, the FlipSide BoardRider wave machine is the main attraction for the over 5's year old. The wave is generated by two pumps that each delivers three cubic metres of water per second. The water recirculates through the FlipSide system and is kept clean with Chlorine and a pool-grade filter.

If you ever want to "safely" learn how to surf but not want to do it at the beach, this is one place to consider. However, it will cost you $5 and you do so at your own risk.

Of course, the other attractions of Hervey Bay have to include it beaches. Perfect for all sorts of water activities like kayaking, water and jet skiing, wind surfing, diving, snorkelling and fishing, from the beach, jetty or out to the reef for reef and game fishing.

Dotted along the Hervey Bay Esplanade are cosmopolitan and alfresco cafes, shops, parklands, picnic areas, playgrounds, piers and a vibrant marina.

For some history, there is The Urangan Pier, a timber pier, 868 meters long. Worth a walk to the very end of the pier. , if nothing else, for its photo opportunities. It was once used to take rail freight to boats at the end of the pier. Now it is a popular place for fishing.

Another place of interest is the Vic Hislop's Shark Show. We were too early for the show when we got there, which was on our last day at Hervey Bay before we head back to the Gold Coast.

If you Google the place, it has got mixed reviews of the place, however, here is a short video of the Shark Show taken by World Travel Geeks. To read more about their time in Hervey Bay, click here.



Map of Hervey Bay and the location of the Shark Show at Urangan. The Wet Side is further up the esplanade towards Pialba.


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Gold Coast - Warner Bros Movie World

The Gold Coast is Australia's premier holiday destination and home to several theme parks; Warner Bros. Movie World, Wet'n'Wild Water World, Australian Outback Spectacular, Paradise Country and Sea World Resort, and these are the main one.

The Warner Bros. Movie World is the theme park of choice for this trip.

It is certainly a place for families with children, young and old (read this as young at heart), who likes the Warner Bros. range of cartoons characters like Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny and company, comic superheros like The Flash and Green Lantern and where Catwoman is, Batman is sure not to be far away.

Now, was that Marilyn Monroe outside the ice-cream parlour?

There are also the adrenaline filled rides; Superman Escape rollercoaster, Batwing Spaceshot and the Wild West Falls Ride. I also spy a new Green Lantern ride from the car park, with the steepest drop in the Southern Hemisphere.

For milder activities, we took in the action packed stunt car show, the Western Town show down and a Marilyn Monroe show. Yes, that was Marilyn at the ice-cream parlour.

There is even a Batman show, with Batman arresting Scarecrow after he fights off six ninjas like foot soldiers of the Scarecrow. If you are wondering who Scarecrow is, you might remember his weapon is the use of the "fear-gas" that stimulates the phobias of his victims.

One other show with a difference is the Ice Age Dawn of Dinosaurs - The 4D Experience show.

The Wild West Falls Ride must be an awesome ride, what with the buzzards keeping a vigil over the rides. Wonder what they are saying to each other?



Then again, it might be the saloon girls they are watching. What do you think?

Healer - Hillsong (Lyrics)

Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
²⁶Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

Luke 4:40 (NLT)
⁴⁰As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

Matthew 10:1 (NLT)
¹Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness

Luke 17:15-16 (NLT)
¹⁵One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God, I'm healed!" ¹⁶He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

Gold Coast - Surf World Museum

I love the waters especially when spending time at the beach, but I do not surf. Surf World Gold Coast is Queensland's only surfing museum and it is located just across the street from the Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary. The entry fee to the museum is included into the ticket price to the Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary. So is the entry to the Superbee Honeyworld next door.

While Margaret is at the Honeyworld, I decided to step into the surf world to see what I will find.

Surf World Gold Coast opened its doors in June 2009 and there is a story behind its opening, which you can read about it in their web-site. Today, there are over a 100+ surfboards dating from 1915 to the present day plus photos, posters, newspaper articles, artwork, clothing and other artefacts.

Many of the surf celebrities do not ring a bell with me, obviously, but it was interesting to read about their stories and the competitions they were in. There is a lot of history and science behind the surf boards too. The museum highlights the evolution of the design and technology from the early 1930s to today.

Some of the surf boards look ancient and heavy but there were a few surprises, like the motorized surf board.

It is a fun and interesting place to spend an hour or so and to see a very different world. I found the staff friendly and there is even a small gift shop.

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Gold Coast - Wildlife Carrumbin Sanctuary

On our way to Surfers Paradise from the Gold Coast airport, we passed a Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary signboard and noticed that it is one of the many theme parks promoted. The Currumbin suburb is just 5 to 10 minutes from the airport.

So we decided to include the wildlife sanctuary as one of the things to do for this trip. Besides, the car rental also includes a 20% discount voucher on the entrance fee for two persons.

Sadly, we could not take advantage of it. The forgetful me did not bring it with us on the day we visited. Here's a cost saving travel tip; always check for discount vouchers to any destination places, theme parks or restaurants, before leaving the hotel room for the day.

One of the first things we notice as we enter into the sanctuary compound was the wide open space with many lizards running around the place to greet us, Welcome! or so it seems. This open space is before the ticket booth and is where you may experience, for free, the feeding of wild Rainbow Lorikeet held twice a day. It was a practise dated back to when the sanctuary started.

A bit of history; the sanctuary was opened as the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary by Alex Griffiths in 1947 as a scheme to stop the local lorikeet population destroying his flower plantations. Today, the sanctuary is 27 hectares in size with lush eucalypt and rainforest trees within.

The sanctuary has one of the largest collections of Australian native species in the world. Included as part of its exhibits are the Dingos, Tasmanian Devils, a reptile house and the largest walk-through aviary in the southern hemisphere.

It also has a miniature railway that started in 1964. Still in good working order and a popular means of transportation around the sanctuary. It sure beats walking. Stop at Kangaroo Crossing and you can mingle with the kangaroos or emus before you head up a slope to the reptile house or aviary.

Included with the ticket is the must see, Flight Bird Show. You just have to plan your walk around the time of the show. Catch the train back to the location of the show, if you find yourself at the other end of the sanctuary.

Here's a short clip of a bird of action, from the show. Enjoy!