Written by Alex
Our stop to Hervey Bay was for one basic purpose – to visit Fraser Island. Unlike Hamilton Island, which is a largely developed island loaded with things to do, Fraser Island is the opposite. Fraser Island is a 75 mile long by 15 mile wide sand island that is almost totally undeveloped and has been named a World Heritage Site. It has mangrove forests and creeks that run from it’s hills into the ocean. There is wildlife on the island, but it is mostly known for its dingo population.
There are a number of tours that do four-wheel vehicles down the eastern coast. We nearly did this but the reviews talked of a lot of driving and bouncing. Then I found a tour that goes to the more secluded west side the island by boat. That sounded more our speed – even when not on the island we would be on a boat on the water rather than a small bus. Sold!
Tasman Ventures was the tour company and they picked us up at our apartment at about 7:20am. A nice feature, they run around town and pick up everyone for the tour and then drop off after! The tour was a little larger than we expected – we have gotten spoiled with these smaller boats of 10-15 people. This boat was noticeably larger and we had about 32 on the tour. They take the larger boat out to an anchorage point and then use smaller boats that can drive up on the beach to shuttle us back and forth to do activities. Once on board the boat we headed out to our first stop – Wathumba Creek. At this spot we did some snorkeling along the shoreline of the creek where fish and turtles hide from predators among fallen trees. The water was very calm so Kim enjoyed this snorkeling a lot. Then we were put into kayaks and paddled up a small tributary of the creek. We haven’t tried kayaking in a long time and Kim was a bit worried, but it actually wasn’t that bad. We managed to paddle up to where one of the tour guides taught us about the mangrove trees and how their leaves color the fresh water a shade of brown. After kayaking we just hung out on the beach and swam for a bit. The beaches are so huge and beautiful – so quiet and unspoiled!
Stop #2 was for some more kayaking up a smaller creek (Aminya Creek) and some tubing off the back of the shuttle boats. Kim passed on the tubing (good call) but I was all in. It was fun but I could imagine Kim not liking it. You have to hold on very tightly and it bounces all over the place as the boat driver pulls the tube back and forth through the wake. I loved it! Then we swam in the creek a bit waiting to kayak. This kayaking was a little more challenging as the creek was narrow and winding, but we got the hang of it pretty good. No pictures again for fear of tipping (we nearly did go over one time), but the mangrove creeks are beautiful.
Stop #3 was a huge sand dune to climb and then another creek (Bowarrady Creek) to swim in for a bit. Climbing the dune was not easy and Kim had to stop a little less than halfway up. The sand shifts beneath the feet and it’s hard climbing. She did great though! I got to the top and one of the guides shot my picture from there. The view was great! We then walked down the coast along a creek lined with what looks like big rocks, but is actually just compressed sand! One more swim and it was time to head back and call it a day! Of course a beverage was needed on the ride back! Fun day for sure!
Once back we went to the apartment to shower and change before dinner. When we opened the apartment door I mentioned to Kim that it smelled like the dryer in the apartment. Yeah, no wonder – turns out the clothes Kim had in the dryer when we left this morning were still drying – 10 hours later!! Thank goodness no damage was done. Just very dry clothes! 🤣
Dinner was down the street at the Beach House Bistro. An interesting restaurant – it has a full menu but there are no waitresses. You figure out what you want and then go order and pay for it all. Then they deliver it to the table when it’s ready. It was good through – we had a small scallop appetizer and the Kim has a grilled chicken sandwich and I had a steak sandwich. Oh photos?? Not today food porn fans. I guess we were hungry!
We then decided to put our hot tub to good use – we made drinks and relaxed for a while! A great end to a fun day!
Tomorrow we will drive about 2-1/2 hours to our next stop, Noosa Heads Beach. Cheers from down under!!
