Hervey Bay

There seems to be so many destinations down the Queensland coast that are worth exploring. The next one for us was Hervey Bay, and its a long esplanade with the sea on one side and shops, accommodation, restaurants and bars on the other. Plenty of grassed parks and gardens make this city an enjoyable living space.

Looks like snow, but it's actually sand.

Just off the coast is the remarkable Fraser Island, and we purchased a day-long four-wheel-drive tour to see it. What makes this large island so remarkable is that it is made entirely of sand. In fact it’s the world’s largest sand island, and a 4WD vehicle is essential to traverse it. From the ferry we drove the 22 kilometres across the island along a bush track made of soft sand. All of the island’s trees grow in soft sand, spreading their roots out wide to ensure they do not topple over. Emerging from the forest on the seaward side of the island, we drove up the beach on wet sand. We soon came across a major Fraser Island landmark on the beach – the rusting shipwreck of “The Mahino”. Washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, photos show that it was a very large ship, but three-quarters of it is now buried under sand. For a short time in its long life it was used as a hospital ship at Gallipoli in 1915, giving it a special place in Australia’s history.

The wreck of "The Maheno" on Fraser Island.

Many freshwater creeks start in the Frazer Island highlands and flow to the sea, and we waded down the length of one of them (Eli Creek). Of course we waded on a bed of ubiquitous white sand. We also drove to one of many lakes in the middle of the island, this one was Lake MacKenzie, and its water was crystal clear on top of white sand. The sand at Lake MacKenzie is reportedly 92% silica, one of the purest silica sands in the world (the purest is apparently Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, at 99%). Sand was ever-present wherever we went on Fraser Island, and it was impossible not to bring some of it home with you.

The seaward side of Fraser Island.

I soon realised that it had been a wise decision not to take my car onto Fraser Island, as the Toyota Landcruiser that took us was riddled with rust from the salty sea air. Every exposed piece of metal on the car was dark brown, and it had several blisters growing from under the paintwork - sure signs of the dreaded metallic cancer. Our tour guide said that their cars only have a lifespan of three years, after which they’re scrapped and new ones are bought.

Beach driving.

Hervey Bay is famous for whale sightings, and we weren’t disappointed. Standing on the beach, we witnessed several humpbacks frolicking out to sea, even breaching the surface to come crashing down to create a splash so big that we could hear it. It was an incredible sight, and we were lucky as whales are not usually spotted until July/August. “The first whales for the year” said our tour guide. “The first whales in our lifetime” we said.

In the distance, a humpback whale says hello.

As well as our tour guide Chris, we had a local indigenous guy called Pete with us, and he was fascinating, explaining many of the traditional customs of the original islanders. That’s one thing that we’ve witnessed throughout our journey so far – so many places have included an aboriginal interpretation of what we were seeing or experiencing. We think that’s fantastic, especially with so much emphasis along the Queensland coast on Captain Cook’s voyage of discovery in 1770. It seems that the imbalance is being restored.