Hervey Bay – Things to see and do in 3 days

On a recent trip to Hervey Bay, we spent time exploring the area, and this is what we discovered on our 4-night stay. Hervey Bay is located 3.5hrs (295kms) north of Brisbane, on Queensland’s Fraser Coast. The major tourism is driven by whale watching and visits to K’gari (Fraser Island). Still, there is much more on offer in this tranquil part of Australia. For more on K’gari, check out our blog or video. In this Blog, we will look at the places we visited, helping you plan your visit to Hervey Bay and the surrounding area with Ideas of things to see and do.

Over on youtube, we are doing a 4 part series covering our visit. We will showcase our experiences on beautiful K’gari and the amazing whale-watching tour; then, we will share our time in surprising Maryborough before wrapping up a series with a look around tranquil Hervey Bay.

The time we spent in Harvey Bay was lovely, and even though it went quick, we loved the feel of the place and recommend spending time exploring the region. One day, we will head back and do more.

Contents

Hervey Bay History

Climate

Urangan Pier

Beaches

Hervey Bay Botanical Gardens

Urangan Boat Harbour

Tours from Hervey Bay

Whale Watching

K’gari Island Day Trip

 Maryborough

Accommodation

Food

Tourist Information Centre

Hervey Bay History

Traditional landowners are the Butchulla People; they called the area home long before the arrival of European settlement. They are known as a shy people group who kept to their own family groups. The first recorded European sighting was by captain Cook on 22nd May 1770, and it was Captain cook who called the area Hervey Bay.

Europeans were first recorded arriving in 1850, and a cattle station was developed. The first permanent residents were Boyle Martin and his family, who cut timber arriving in 1863. Timber and cattle were the main draw and industry in those early days. With sugar cane farming coming along fairly soon.

In the 1950’s  Hervey Bay saw a surge in popularity when retirees from southern states discovered its temperate weather. Today many tourists are not only making good with the warmer winter temps but also enjoying the easy access to K’gari and Australia’s premier whale-watching area in Platypus Bay.

Climate

Hervey Bay is a subtropical climate; the temperatures average around 30 degrees c in summer and 22decrees c in winter. The southeast trade winds in summer and strong northerly winds in winter play a role in preventing weather extremes. Hervey Bay can be affected by Tropical Cyclones, with the main season being December to March and May and June, so expect rain.

We Visited in mid-August and had amazing weather every day, it was chilly on the boat across to K’gari (Fraser Island), but that was the coolest moment we experienced during the whole trip.

Urangan Pier

This Historic Pier, dating back to 1913, is one of the region’s must-see sights, whether you enjoy a walk to the end to see views back along the coast or spot sea life, fishing for whiting or taking in its expanse from the park that surrounds this 868m long deep water pier. You will be taken in by one of Australia’s longest piers, and knowing it is free to access makes it all the better.

The pier was originally built to help with the export of sugar cane and was in operation until 1985. Originally the length was a whooping 1124metres, and when it closed in 1985, they demolished 239 metres, leaving us 868metres to enjoy today.

Beaches

Hervey Bay has around 17km of sheltered beaches; whether you want to lay your towel out on the golden sand, take a stroll or find a spot to take a dip, your choice will not be limited.

Looking for an amazing spot to watch the sunset? The beaches of Hervey Bay are an excellent spot to enjoy the day’s end and just maybe add a little romance to your trip as a bonus.

Our hotel was located right across the street from one of the many access points to Torquay beach, a lovely 800m stretch of sand offering great opportunities to relax. Alongside the beach are loads of open grass area with picnic and BBQ facilities, helping you make a beach day a breeze.

There is the Esplanade, a walk taking you from Urangan to Point Vernon (between 14 to 17 km long), which is a great option for those who like to walk but not stay on the sand. If you are looking for a change of landscape, then head to Point Vernon. The waterline is rockier and home to many creatures who like rock pools, a great place to explore.

There are many fishing places, but the Urangan Pier area seems to be a favourite.

Hervey Bay Botanical Gardens

This 26 Hectare garden is close to the heart of town. It boasts beautiful walks, a wildlife-filled lagoon and the stunning Orchid House. As you walk the grounds, there are places to picnic, a chapel and other places to sit to watch the world go by.

This free visit was truly a surprise. The Orchid house is home to around 85 types of orchids and will have the visitors enchanted by the diversity of these magnificent flowers.

The Lagoon is home to turtles, fish, and ducks. The day we visited, other water birds enjoyed the free feed and the calm shaded watering hole. We walked through the orchid hose and walked the path around the lagoon, taking time to stop on the bridge and platforms to watch the turtles and birds in the water.

Gardens are open 6 am-8 pm, and the Orchid house is open 9 am – 230pm.

 

Urangan Boat Harbour

Home to many beautiful pleasure boats and the place many whale watching tours leave from Urabngan Harbour is a hive of activity. Like many boat harbours getting on your vessel is only part of the experience. We actually headed out to check out the shopping and find a place to enjoy morning tea at a restaurant by the harbour, and we were not disappointed. There was plenty of parking, and we entered the harbour area via the Whale Bay Wharf and made our way to Bells Chit Chat. A lovely cafe on the water’s edge, exactly what we were after. There are a few shops in this wharf complex and the meeting place for the spirit whale watching boat.

At this location, you will also find the Great Sandy Straits Marina, again a complex with shops and boat moorings, and this is where our whale-watching tour left from. Along with whale-watching tours, there are many charter boats to take you fishing, snorkelling, diving, or just cruising from this Marina. There are a few different companies to drop into and find a cruise to meet your needs. Back past the Whale Bay Wharf is the Fisherman’s marina, we did not get to visit this area, but we did have dinner one night at the Hervey Bay Boat club.

Tours from Hervey Bay

When it comes to tours from Hervey bay, the choice is huge, with the highlight tours offered being trips to K’gari (Fraser Island) and whale watching in season.

Do you want to do something different? There are other water-based tours, including sunset cruises, kayaking adventures, and more. If you are looking to learn about Butchulla culture, check out what tours are available when you visit.

Wanting to head inland? Then why not check out the Mary Valley Rattler, a three-hour steam train journey? This train travels from Gympie to Amamoor through beautiful farmland and hinterland hills.

In the next section, we will talk about experiences, and places visited during our 4-night stay.

Check out our Affiliate here for tours.

 

Whale Watching

Humpback Whales drop into Playtapus bay as they migrate between mid-July to November. If you are in the area between August and September, you are more likely to see mum and calves, and the whales are more playful. Hervey Bay is known as Australia’s whale-watching capital. This was made official in October 2019 when the World Cetacean Alliance awarded them the world’s first Whale Heritage Site. 

There are many Tours out there. We did our tour with Tasman Adventures at our hotel’s recommendation. I have to say I could not have been more impressed with this company. 

We did a half-day tour taking in the afternoon. After a 40-minute trip to where the whales were hanging out, we were blessed with a fantastic encounter.

The staff ensured we knew what was going on and our “guide” showed great passion in sharing her knowledge. 

All the staff were genuinely excited about having whales hang out with us on board their vessel.

Check out our whale-watching video 

On our tour, we encountered 8 whales, two sets of mum and calves, and then we had 2 adults who spent nearly 2 hours mugging us (this is what the tour calls it). Mugging is when the whales choose to hang out with us up close. 

Later in the afternoon, our two muggers had a couple more whales join their pod and continue to mug us.

Afternoon tea was served on the way out to the whales, and then we enjoyed a cheese, salami and crackers platter on the way back to the pier.

As I said, many tours range from short one- or two-hour to whole-day tours.

We paid $130.00pp, and like the length of tours, you can also shop for price.

Check out our Affiliate here for tours

K’gari Island Day Trip

Visiting the Worlds largest sand island is easy, and whether you head over in your own 4WD or an organised tour, there are loads to see and do. K’gari is home to the purest dingoes in the world, beautiful beaches, lakes and a shipwreck, just to mention a few things to fill your time.

On our 4wd bus tour, we visited many of the highlights; lunch was included at K’gari Beach Resort, a lovely-looking resort right on the entrance to 75-mile beach. Another Highlight of our day was paying for a short joy flight over a part of this amazing island. The flight was AUD$100.00 pp and gave us a 10 min jaunt in the skies over 75-mile beach and some of the shrubland neighbouring it.

There are various accommodation types, from camping to resort-style accommodation, and you can find them all over the island.

To get to the island is an easy car ferry ride, leaving from River head. To drive on the island, you must have a 4wd.

We paid AUD$239.00pp with K’gari Explorer Tours

Check out our Affiliate here for tours

We have a complete blog on K’gari to learn more.

Check out the video of the day we went to K’gari and how our 4wd tour took us to many of the highlight spots.

 Maryborough

Wow, what a lovely little town and the history…

A 25mins (30kms) drive south of Hervey Bay is the quaint port town of Maryborough. On the surface, this a sleepy town, but it does not take long to see this town on the banks of the Mary river is bursting with history. There is evidence that the Gubbi Gubbi and Butchulla people living in the area for thousands of years. Mathew Flinders in 1802 and William Edwardson in 1822 were the first Europeans to survey the area and note its good vegetation.

The town of Maryborough was founded in 1847 by George Furber, who established a small wool depot on the river banks. Maryborough added sugar cane to its farming in 1859. Later the port of Maryborough became one of Australia’s main immigration ports (only Sydney was more notable). Maryborough welcomed immigrants (over 22,000) to Australia from 1871-1915.

Maryborough is one of QLD’s oldest towns, and you can see some beautiful buildings dating back to the 1800s. Enjoy walking the streets from the river and marvel at the restored building as they take you back in time. Or visit Queens Park, another tranquil place on the banks of the Mary River. An excellent place to relax or take in the Anzac walk and war memorial.

One famous resident was author PL Travers (Born Helen Lyndon Goff), the author of Mary Poppins. Travers was born in 1899 in an upper bank room; her father managed in Maryborough. Today you can visit the bank

building that has been transformed into a beautiful interactive museum. The Museum, the Storybank, is opened 9:30 to 2:30 on weekdays and from 9:30 to 2 pm weekends and holidays. It costs $15.00pp, and the visit

takes around an hour.

Accommodation

Like all popular coastal areas, there is a plethora of options to lay your head on, from van parks and hostels to hotels and resorts.

Check out our Affiliate link here to find accommodation in Hervey Bay.

We stayed in a spa suite at the Beach hotel Hervey Bay. This hotel was lovely, the staff very helpful and right across the road from an access point onto Torquay Beach.

Food

A quick point on food, we ate at a few places during our visit, including the Boat Club, and Bella chit chat, both at the Boat Harbour. The Boat Club was ok, very busy and noisy.

One night we enjoyed some amazing Indian at Nilima’s Indian Restaurant. It was only a few doors from our hotel and a pleasant surprise.

We visited Enzos on the beach at Scarness, and this place has it all, beachfront views, great service and amazing food. We enjoyed this place so much that we stopped by twice.

Tourist Information Centre

We dropped by the Tourist Information Centre to ensure we had all our bases covered or that we had not missed anything, and the ladies were helpful, answered all our questions, and cleared up some stuff we needed clearing up.

227 Maryborough – Hervey Bay Road Corner of Urraween RoadHervey Bay, Queensland 4655

1800 811 728

This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Hervey Bay.