Hervey Bay Gossip

A stroll on the beach at Hervey Bay on a pleasant Sunday afternoon can always finish up with a cup of coffee at Enzo’s where the atmosphere can remind you of a more elegant age.

Well it had to come as hoons spoil it for everyone else.

At the moment it seems to be something is more of a problem further south but a ban on jet skis certainly could come to Hervey Bay.

The local jet ski hire operators are to be commended for the efforts they put in to making sure that people who use their equipment do the right thing. But it’s the private owners who ignore the speed limits near the shore that could see a ban introduced here.

edited to remove a dead link

Today sees the start of an occasional series showing some of the interesting things to be seen along the beach at Hervey Bay - apart from those stormwater outfalls that are nothing but eyesores.

Today’s photo shows that if you’re into pedal power then you don’t have to be confined to the bike track to enjoy a good time in Hervey Bay. This young man was powering along at quite a decent speed when we caught him going under the pier at Torquay.

More great weather is forecast for Hervey Bay this Easter weekend and already there are people out and about taking advantage of it.

I’m not sure that the fisherman was having any luck this morning - the water was absolutely teaming with live bait.

And if fishing isn’t your thing then maybe this might be more to your taste.

It’s hard to believe that we are well into the second month of autumn here in Hervey Bay. A wander along the beach will soon show you that it’s still warm enough to spend time swimming and working on your tan.

This was Shelley Beach yesterday morning

If you take the time to wander through some of the earlier posts here on Hervey Bay Gossip you will find that I frequently advocate the need for you to get out for a morning walk along the beaches.

Well yesterday we hit the beach in the morning and the afternoon and, if you can’t make it in the morning then don’t misss it in the afternoon because it’s just as good.

Although sometimes the traffic can be a little heavy and yes … that is a traffic controller - you just can’t hide from them anywhere here in Hervey Bay

And for all those people who are looking at this site from outside of Hervey Bay I should explain that there is a beach nourishment project underway and that big yellow monster is carrying sand for the project which should end within a week or so.

If you just want to sit back with a good cup of coffee there’s always Enzo’s right on the beach at Scarness

The nourishment of beaches around Pialba is underway with sand being brought in from either end of Hervey Bay and the beach has become a thoroughfare for large trucks at low tide.

Of course the trucks are operating at low speed as they traverse the beach but it was still worrying to see that some walkers on the beach don’t seem to see any need to move out of the way of the trucks as they approach.

If you’re one of the walkers on the beach then you may know where you are going and the truck drivers know where they’re going but do you know where each other is going? It’s far easier for a walker to get out of the way of a truck and even wait a few moments till the truck has moved on than it is for the trucks to avoid you.

So show some caution and give the drivers a fair go.

A walk along Scarness Beach on Saturday morning revealed the continued deterioration of this dreadful eyesore.

You just have to wonder how long it is going to take the Hervey Bay Council to wake up to reality and remove this mess before someone gets hurt as they climb on it. It’s been closed for as long as most people can remember and the Council shows no signs of repairing it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the importance of providing disabled access to the beach but this contraption was never going to work for long. As the sand on the beach shifts there was always going to be long periods when the end of the ramp finished in mid-air.

So now is the time to demolish this and replace it with something more effective.

What say you?

Hervey Bay Council reports that the beach at Toogoom was the only area to suffer damage during yesterday’s king tides. Despite work to protect the beach there was sand erosion and water came to within a few metres of houses along the beach front.

At Urangan water was breaking over the wall along The Esplanade but no real damage was done to the beach.

It seems hard to believe but sand really is a valuable resource here in Hervey Bay. Because of the tidal action various beaches along the foreshore often need what the Hervey Bay Council calls ‘nourisment’.

Sources of sand for beach nourishment are limited and excavating sand from Dayman Spit is not cheap so the Council was pleased to receive permission from the Environmental Protection Agency to use sand excavated from development projects along The Esplanade.

The first sand will come from the Allegra Apartments development and will be used on Scarness and Urangan beaches.