The day trips, weekenders and anchorages worth knowing around Hervey Bay. Plainly written.
Hervey Bay's boating front door.
The main working harbour and marina precinct on the Hervey Bay foreshore — fuel, ramps, marina berths, charter fleet and the Boat Club all in the one basin. The default staging point for K'gari (Fraser Island) crossings, whale-watching runs and Great Sandy Strait cruising.
The classic protected cruising ground.
The long protected waterway between K'gari (Fraser Island) and the mainland — 70 nautical miles of anchorages, sandbanks, mangrove creeks and Ramsar-listed wetlands. Read the beacons carefully; the channels wind and the sand shifts, but the shelter and scenery are hard to beat anywhere in Australia.
The west-coast K'gari beachhead.
The resort jetty and beach on the western side of K'gari, in the lee of the trade winds. Public jetty landing, resort facilities ashore, calm turquoise water and pine forest right to the sand. A benchmark first stop across the strait.
The world's whale-watching capital.
The wide bay on the western side of K'gari, sheltered from the trades and famous globally for humpback whale encounters between July and November. Flat water, deep blue and one of the great wildlife experiences on any Australian boat.
A protected day-anchor postcard.
A forested island a short run north of Urangan — historic lighthouse, sandy beaches on the western side and easy anchoring in the lee. Ideal for a day trip, snorkel on the fringing rock and a beach lunch out of Hervey Bay.
The remote northern tip.
The far northern tip of K'gari — long white beaches, quiet anchorages and the crossover point between the bay and the open Coral Sea. A serious step north from Urangan; plan the weather, plan the fuel and enjoy some of the emptiest water in south-east Queensland.