Hervey Bay Gossip

There has been a fire burning unchecked on the mainland side of Fraser Island sinced Wednesday afternoon. Smoke from the fire can be seen from anywhere along the beach in Hervey Bay.

The State Government has now released a detailed marine park zoning plan covering an area from Baffle Creek in the north to Double Island Point in the south and includes all of the coastal waters around Fraser Island.

Under the plan open water fish farms have been banned, commercial fishing has been protected and recreational fishermen will still be able to access most of their favourite spots.

Commercial net and line fishing will still be permitted off most of Fraser Island. Recreational fishing only will be permited at Southern Gutters and 25 Fathom Hole and along the eastern coastline of Fraser Island.

Areas of southern Hervey Bay and parts of Platypus Bay will be protected from trawling but will still be open to other forms of commercial fishing.

The new plan will be reveiwed in five years.

From June 7 a cruise ship will be operating out of the Boat Harbour at Urangan but don’t expect to see a huge liner trying to find it’s way into the harbour any time soon. Instead you will see the MV Discovery arrive from Tasmania around the end of May to spend the next three months offering five star adventure cruising around Fraser Island.

The Discovery was built by Hobart boat builders, Richardson and Devine, and spends the summer months involved in eco-tourism on Tasmania’s west coast. You can learn more about the Discovery here.

While operating out of Hervey Bay the vessel will carry 24 passengers in first class accommodation with private facilities. Each cruise will stretch over four days and include kayaking, snorkeling, fishing and shore tours.

The first cruise will depart on June 7 and the final cruise of the season will depart on September 8.

Click here for further details.

Our very own Fraser Island has made it to the pages of the esteemed Financial Times. I’m not sure that anyone could reasonably have a “Robinson Crusoe moment” on Fraser Island but it makes for a good read.

Perhaps we will see an influx of pinstripe suits in the coming months.

Not everyone might remember the price war that raged between Fraser Island ferry operators during 2000 but it certainly seems to have been a rather bitter struggle.

That struggle had its curtain call in the Federal Court in Brisbane on Monday when one of the operators was fined one million dollars by the Australian Consumer Commission for being in breach of the Trade Practices Act.

edited to remove a dead link

A British backpacker has sustained multiple injuries after being run over while sleeping in dunes near Eli Creek on Fraser Island yesterday.

He was flown to Hervey Bay Hospital for treatment .

It is believed that the injured man was part of a group of backpackers who had camped in the dunes for the night and they were still asleep at 6.50am when the accident happened.

The area where the group camped is a popular four-wheel drive spot. After investigating the accident police will not be charging the driver.

There seems to have been a fire burning on Fraser Island for most of the day yesterday. By last night the smoke cloud had billowed high into the air and after night fell a wind change brought a lot of smoke and ash into Hervey Bay

A prominent Queensland property developer has outlined his plans to build a terminal for cruise ships off Hervey Bay.

The plans … or concept … as the developer likes to call them also involve a super yacht marina that would see a major expansion of Boat Harbour.

I wonder if we really want Boat Harbour expanded and whether Fraser Island could really cope with even more tourists.?

For the second year in a row the Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village on Fraser Island has won the Queensland Tourism award for ecotourism.

Commendations were also earned by Ghostly Tales and Tours of the Port of Maryborough and Bethany Cottages.

It’s been raining nearly all weekend and here we are on Monday morning and it’s still overcast in Hervey Bay. And that is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the weather.

Perhaps you think I’m crazy but it’s in weather like this that you will see a side of the real bay - not the town - that you will otherwise miss. The sun’s hidden and the water is often quite still but there is a brooding beauty and majesty about the Hervey Bay that’s missing at other times.

Don’t just take my word for it - get out and see for yourself. Take a walk along the beach and look over towards Fraser Island. Stand on any of the piers at Scarness, Torquay or Urangan and just listen to the quiet.

It really is a different time to be out there so get out and JUST DO IT!