Blogs from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Since circumnavigating Australia I have taken a rest from the keyboard and detailing notes of our travels. This has been due to pure laziness and lack of drive to put pen to paper as it were. After returning to NZ in Jan 2018 Pete and I have done several house sits around NZ and explored the South Island for 2 months in a motorhome which was fantastic. We then had a beautiful holiday in Phuket, Thailand with our 3 kids which we all thoroughly enjoyed after not being together for 6 years! We are now back in Australia on a 4 month house sit in Hervey Bay, caring for a dog, cat and 4 chickens on 6 acres and having a great time what with 2 regular Trivia nights, line dancing for me and snooker for ... read more

Geo: -25.2836, 152.836It was an early start for the drive up to Hervey Bay for our all day Whale watching trip, whilst we waited on the pontoon for everyone to assemble we were given buns to feed the Pelicans who had gathered obviously knowing a free meal was on hand. Hervey Bay is the Humpback Whale's nursery they come each year between July and November to give birth in these safe warm waters, so expectations are high. having set off we were given a briefing about what to expect the history of the area and what Whales we could possibly see, the vast majority being Humpbacks. The skipper and his wife put on a magnificent mid-morning spread of tea, coffee, scones, jam, and profiteroles. Shortly afterwards we were in amongst the Whales, it's difficult to describe ... read more

It is a number of years since Marg and I visited Hervey Bay. This coastal city has a well earned reputation as the Whale Watching capital of the world - but not at this time of year. However, there were two new attractions that started this weekend in Hervey Bay and the Fraser Coast. Marg and I went down to the pier where the whale watching boats depart from to get some information from the Info Centre we had visited some years back. That had been relocated and instead we walked in on an opening ceremony of a new Art and Craft shop being run more or less as a co-operative amongst several local artisans. In fact, we ended up being their first official customers on the day, buying an original painting. I must say we ... read more

The bus was almost empty when it picked us up and we were able to sit on the front seats again, which was great as it allowed us to see the views from all angles. We'd been lucky with the seats, generally. If space allows, some drivers don't like people to sit on the front four seats, to allow them a bit of 'personal space'. Others welcome the company and the price you have to pay for the best seats is usually that you have to chat with the driver. We didn't mind that at all, as we learned all sorts from them that we wouldn't have done if sitting elsewhere. Thankfully, Mr Grumpy was in a much better mood and was quite interesting to chat to. The bus seemed really ancient, with no bells or ... read more

Trash-tastic!!!!!!!! Don't get me wrong - it's not that I am tired of the beach, oh my no, but there are so many other things that this country has to offer, and I hope to see, do, experience, savour and soak up as much as possible before my time here runs out. Not long after arriving here in Hervey Bay, my bro and I were chatting about this and that. He and his wife have been living here for over 25 years, so have been able to introduce me to many aspects of day-to-day life Down Under - you know, the kind of stuff you don't find in the travel brochures. After touring my brother's workshop, discussing his projects and telling him about my renos and projects back home, the talk, naturally turned to garbage. We ... read more