Hervey Bay is an easily accessible holiday destination about three and a half hours drive from Brisbane, or 45 minutes by air. It used to be a series of small towns along the coast, but during the 1970s it started to become popular as a tourist area and now the towns have merged together. Hervey Bay has a population of over 53,000 and is one of the fastest growing towns in Australia.

The area has a very pleasant warm subtropical climate with summer maximums of around 30 degrees and winter maximums around 22 degrees. Most of the annual rain occurs in summer from December to February.

Hervey Bay is a popular point to visit nearby Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, and also Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef. It is also known as the whale watching capital of Australia, as since whaling stopped in the 1960s it is the place to view the regular migrations of humpback whales on their 11,000 kilometre journey between Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef.

The whales give birth in the warm waters of north Queensland and mothers and calves will stop at Hervey Bay to rest and give the calves time to develop a protective layer of blubber before they return to Antarctica. They start arriving from late July, and may be seen until November, with August to mid-October being the main period, when as many as 30 whales can be seen in the bay.

As well as having the best humpback whale watching in the world Hervey Bay has 14 kilometres of golden beaches safe for children, as they are protected by Fraser Island. The waters are home to turtles, dolphins and dugongs as well as whales. In addition to joining a whale-watching cruise there are other attractions to visit such as animal museums and parks including Hervey Bay Nature World, Neptune's Reef World, and Vic Hislop's Great White Shark Expo.

Urangan Pier is a great spot for fishing and there are places offering diving courses which are handy if you are going to the Great Barrier Reef.

Next time you are after a getaway, no matter what your interests, your age group or the season, you can enjoy the experiences and natural beauty of Hervey Bay.