Hervey Bay

Despite the city itself cannot be considered as beautiful as other Australian cities, Hervey Bay has something  that other cities only dream to have and for this reason it has been nominated as capital of an amazing activity…. we are talking about Whale Watching!  Located in Queensland, just 3½ hours’ drive from Brisbane, the town of Hervey Bay is absolutely the best known place to spot humpback whales. Migrating along the coast between April and October, these beautiful animals can be found in the narrow sea between Hervey Bay and Fraser Island. There are several whale watching companies in town and all of them offer the same type of service:  Half day (4h) or All day (6h).

Two humpback whales playing in front of us

N.B: Platypus Bay is the place where usually whales are spotted and to reach it the agencies spend almost 2 hours sailing, so it means you spend 2/3 hours with whales  (if you are lucky!). See these beautiful animals is not guaranteed, especially if you go in late October, but take the risk and try this incredible experience!

Quick cat II ticket

Some of the whale watching companies are:

-          SPIRIT OF HERVEY BAY

-          THAT’S AWESOME

-          MV TASMAN VENTURE

-          BLUE DOLPHIN MARINE TOURS

-          QUICK CAT II

We personally chose  the last one and we were happy with their service. The crew also gave us a DVD with the video of our journey, awesome! We recommend them also because the price was a bit cheaper than the others.

Being an important stop for who is going to Fraser Island, now you know that in Hervey Bay there is another reason why you should visit this town. If you are looking to stay more nights in Harvey Bay we advice the YHA hostel, which we found the best YHA hostel we have ever beeen:

https://www.yha.com.au/hostels/qld/fraser-capricorn-coasts/hervey-bay

The hostel offers a relaxing environment with first-class accommodation for backpackers and travellers of all kinds and it is surrounded by tropical gardens and it also provides  large pool, bistro, internet lounge, tennis and basketball courts and tour booking service.

Thank you Hervey Bay for this amazing experience

The Australia Zoo

Steve Irwin ( 1962 - 2006 )

This is a special place nature lovers should visit if they are in Sunshine Coast area because this is not a simple zoo, but home of the great Stephen "Steve" Irwin. Also called by the name of Crocodile Hunter, someone of you could remember his face thanks to the famous program where he was “involved” in activities with snakes and crocodiles. The program abroad was called as Crocodile Hunter and it was on air in Italy with the name of Missione Natura on La7 channel. Tragically died when he was playing  for a documentary, because of a poisonous sting of a manta ray, he’s considered as “national hero” in Australia. The wildlife park, owned now by his wife, won several Tourism Awards and it’s an oasis full of fauna. You’ll find all the typical Australian animals – as kangaroos, koalas, crocodiles, parrots, snakes and spiders  – and some others coming from different states – white tigers, giraffes, hippo are some examples. 

Coast To Coast

Let’s talk about two beautiful stretches of Queensland Coast: Gold and Sunshine Coast. What you can do here is not the typical American road trip from east to west, but more simply a visitation of two places so close but so different to each other.

GOLD COAST

Known as one of the most spectacular and touristic place of the north-east state, the Gold Coast is a necessary step when you organize a trip on the road and it is also a recommended spot if you are a type of person who likes to enjoy the beach during the day and to party at night. You are able to find there whatever you need: cheap accommodations, luxury hotels, surf beaches, crazy pubs, amazing skyline and much more. Gold Coast is the second most popolous city in the state, after Brisbane, and counts almost 600.000 people in an area of 414.300 km2 - it's actually bigger than the whole Italy (301.340 km2)!

Surfers Paradise skyline and main beach

The Gold Coast city consists of many districts and SURFERS PARADISE is the best known thanks to its skyline reminding the arabic city of Dubai, clubs, restaurants and surf breaks, probably the most famous one in all Australia. Here is where the legend of  Australian surfing is born and regularly every year are held international surfing competitions with the most important global surfers.
But it doesn't mean you can't try surfing here for your first time, in fact in Surfers Paradise there are several surfing schools ready to teach the beginners how to stand on the board and ride the wave. Easy to reach from Brisbane, Surfers is the ideal destination for those who are looking for a funny weekend to spend under the sun, considering that the city has an average temperature of 20-28° in summer and 12-21° in winter, is an ideal location for all those who likes take tan and swimming all year round.

Hippie Travels Happy Travels

Surfers Paradise waterfront sign

SUNSHINE COAST

The Sunshine Coast is a darling spot and a fantastic destination for families, couples and for those who are looking for a relaxing holiday. Located just one hour from Brisbane, this place is easily accessible by car and train and it's what you are looking for if you like surfing, bushwalking and... a bit of everything. Even if Sunshine Coast is a touristic place as Gold Coast, the environment and the lifestyle are completely different: you won't find skyscrapers nor traffic in SC, but nature and wildlife in a rarely beautiful background.

Noosa Heads main beach

This amazing coastal stretch has been subjected to a slowly development until tourism became an important source of income for the residents. NOOSA HEADS is the best known city in all Sunshine Coast and it's a first tourism destination thanks to the fabolous Noosa National Park and new shopping stores, fancy restaurants, cheap markets.

Noosa and its National Park

This National Park is the most popular one in the country, with more than one million visits each year; it hosts a big community of koalas and possums and provides long white sandy beaches. From the several lookout located on the track you can see humpback whales jumping out of the water and many coulurful birds fly about.

Wild koala spotted on a tree in Noosa National Park

But Sunshine Coast is not only Noosa, in fact there are also many other beautiful spots: for example Mooloolaba and Caloundra are some of the must-see places in Queensland. MOOLOOLABA with its esplanade, the Underwater world marine park, multi-ethnic restaurants and cheap hostel will satisfy all your desire. In our case, we took the surf board from our hostel (http://www.mooloolababackpackers.com/) and enjoyed the beautiful beach all day long!

Mooloolaba by day and night