Fraser Coasting

Find your bliss...

K’gari-Fraser Island

This World Heritage-wonder and largest sand island on the planet is the region’s number 1 tourist attraction and will surprise and delight you. With everything from resorts to bush camping, this is one of the most awe-inspiring wilderness islands on earth with beautiful bluehued freshwater lakes, rainforest thousands of years old growing out of the sand and 75 miles of beach doubling as a 4WD “highway” and light aircraft landing strip. Whale watching

Hervey Bay is the only place in Australia where humpback whales stop to rest and play for up to 10 days on their migration journey from the Antarctic to the northern tropics. The calm waters are used as a nursery during September and October where mothers teach their calves life skills and glide in for a closer look at the passengers aboard whale watching vessels. Lady Elliot Island

The southern Great Barrier Reef coral cay of Lady Elliot Island is just next door to Hervey Bay via a 40-minute scenic flight over K’gariFraser Island and the Great Sandy Strait. It’s one of the few places on the Queensland coast where it is possible to step off the beach directly onto the reef, where you can swim with manta rays and turtles in an unrivalled, nature experience.

Experience eco-adventures and amazing aquatic action at Hervey Bay, a relaxed, beachside location with one of the most protected and stunning coastlines on the eastern seaboard. Build sandcastles and paddle at safe beaches, listen to youngsters squeal with delight at water and adventure parks, ride horses or go-karts or get close to sea creatures at the aquarium. Maryborough

Stroll through the heritage-rich streets brimming with fine colonial architecture and uncover some of the fascinating stories which shaped one of Queensland’s oldest cities; see the building where P.L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins books, was born and be moved by the new, interactive Gallipoli to Armistice Memorial. Hinterland

Fish or paddle along the Mary River, walk the bush track to Utopia Rock Pools west of Maryborough, grab a bite to eat at historic country pubs, catch a glimpse of the past at museums in Howard, Brooweena and Bauple and find out more about the ancient Queensland lungfish and bottombreathing Mary River turtle. Great Sandy Strait

Get away from it all and unwind in the coastal hamlets of Maaroom, Boonooroo, Tuan, Poona and Tinnanbar. Enjoy the unspoilt environment, boating in the protected turquoise waters and a spot of birdwatching – the Great Sandy Biosphere, recognised by UNESCO in 2009 as a significant wetland, is home to almost half of Australia’s bird species.

Burrum Coast

Fish off the beach or rock walls, motor offshore, explore the river systems and make seasonal catches of crabs and prawns at Burrum Heads, where you can also spot turtles from the beach. Visit the annual picnic races at Torbanlea or learn about the region’s coal mining history in Howard and take a ride in old coal wagons once a month on market day.

Travel and EAT with Dan & Steph

Fraser Coast tourism ambassadors, Dan and Steph Mulheron, have a national profile through winning My Kitchen Rules in 2013 and achieving runners-up status in 2020 in the “fans and favourites” series. And in 2021 the locally born and educated couple further broadened their appeal through starring in their own television show on Channel 7, Travel and EAT with Dan & Steph. The entrepreneurial pair devised the foodie program to showcase natural produce in locations across regional Queensland and increase tourism by encouraging people to discover the State’s “foodie delights” by exploring their own backyards. In 30-minute episodes filmed at different locations, including the Fraser Coast, Dan and Steph visit local growers, suppliers and producers, creating two dishes that reflect international flavours using regional produce. Dan and Steph spend part of each show endorsing Fraser Coast tourism products and the region generally, providing a strong connection with a wide range of potential travellers, through their exposure as successful MKR contestants.

Dan & Steph and daughter Emmy’s top things to do on the Fraser Coast include:

1. Visiting WetSide water park on the foreshore at Pialba. As well as amazing waterplay adventures for children, this free, ecofriendly facility has plenty of shade, food and drink options.

Check for opening times. 2. Cooking a beachside barbecue and many of the picnic spots that run the length of the Hervey Bay esplanade from Point

Vernon to Urangan. All are close to amenities. 3. Swimming, canoeing or paddle boarding in the calm waters of

Hervey Bay, or just building castles in the sand along the many

Esplanade beaches. 4. Walking one of Australian’s longest piers, which stretches nearly a kilometre into the sea at Urangan. Hervey Bay’s port for more than 100 years, the pier is now a place of fun and one of the region’s most popular fishing spots. 5. Taking Maryborough’s military tour and learning about

Australian’s military past at the Gallipoli to Armistice Memorial in Queens Park, where Lieutenant Duncan Chapman is immortalised in a bronze statue.

6. Exploring SplashSide, a water park and all abilities playground at Maryborough’s Anzac Park at 45 Cheapside Street. The Park has a sensory wall, a spoon full of sugar discharge bucket, trampoline, waterfall, crystal fountains and a hammock.