If you haven't been to Hervey Bay, Queensland yet, you need to add it to your travel bucket list. This quiet little coastal town sits right on the doorstep to some of Queensland clearest and whitest sand beaches just waiting to be discovered. Think Whitehaven beach quality - but imagine having it all yourself and without the hefty price tag of going to the Whitsundays! That's where Tasman Venutre's Remote Fraser Island Tour is going to take you.
The highlight - Wathumba Creek, located on Fraser Island (K'gari) just over an hour boat ride Hervey Bay. Tasman Ventures holds the exclusive tour rights to this world class destination as part of their remote Fraser Island experience tour. We absolutely LOVED this day trip tour, we spent a week in Hervey Bay doing multiple tours and we have to say this was the highlight. Here is our experience and review of the Remote Fraser Island Tour. If you are considering booking for yourself, you should.
Tour Price: $195 per adult, $115 per child (Aged 4-14)
Tour Timing and Duration:
Departs at 8am, returns at 5pm (approximately)
Departure times vary during whale season (Mid July - Late October) 7:30am-4:30pm
Departs & Returns from: Hervey Bay Sandy Straits Marina, Bucaneer Drive
Tour Highlights: The stunning Wathumba Creek on Fraser Island - snorkel, Kayak and banana boat in some across Queensland's best beaches (No extra cost for the Banana boat ride), Whale watching & swimming with whales during the seaon (Mid Jul- Late Oct) when the conditions are right (at no extra cost!), Sand dune climb on Bowarrady due Fraser Island before a swim at Bowarrady Creek.
Group Size: Small group size
Food Included: Includes morning tea (We had Muffins, cakes, coffee, tea), Lunch (We had Chicken, salad, bread, fruits), Afternoon tea (We had Cheese and biscuits platter), options to purchase soft drinks, alcohol, ice creams
What to bring: Sunscreen, a hat, swimwear, camera, change of clothes if you get wet, towel. Wetsuits and snorkel gear is provided by the tour.
Best time of the year to go: For the chance of whale watching and swimming with the whales, we recommend Mid July to Late October, however for the warmest waters to enjoy swimming and snorkelling on Fraser Island, aim for the summer months between November to April.
Book here with Tasman Ventures Tours
Our Tasman Ventures Fraser Island Tour Experience Highlights:
Wathumba Creek Fraser Island
If you are looking for one of the most stunning beaches in all of Queensland and Australia - Wathumba Creek has to be up there! If you're like us and had no idea this place even existed, prepare to be blown away by its natural beauty. This location is world class.
The sand is soft pure white silica sand, just like the beaches of Whitehaven in the Whitsundays, and the water is crystal clear and calm. Best part is there's a good chance you'll have this beach all to yourself. No rental 4WD or boats are allowed in this part of Fraser Island as it's high risk with the fast changing tides. Only privately owned vessels are allowed, and Tasman Ventures is the only tour company that operates to this part of the island, so you're in for a unique experience.
This was the first stop of the tour. Here you can enjoy time swimming and snorkelling up the creek, kayak, and even enjoying being pulled along by their boat on a giant inflatable at high speeds for a thrill! This wasn't advertised as a tour inclusion so we were pretty stoked to find out we could do this for free as part of the trip. It was our favourite part! Don't miss it.
And in case you're thinking Wathumba Creek looks a little familiar, it was used as a filming location for the Hollywood blockbuster Fool's Gold. Doubling as the Maldives and Caribbean. Just goes to show how incredible a location it really is.
Whale Watching in Platypus Bay along the great Sandy Straits
If you book your tour from Mid July to Late October, you will be on the lookout for humpback whales, and it's very likely that you will be in for a close encounter. For that reason timings of your visits to each destination on the tour may vary!
Platypus Bay, just off the coast of Hervey Bay and Fraser Island is world renowned as one of the best spots to encounter the Southern Humpback Whales. This is where the whales rest and play in between their long journey to and from Antartica.
After our time at Wathumba Creek as we were cruising our way through Platypus Bay toward the Bowarrady Sand Dune we encountered 3 very curious Humpback whales. Our boat stopped to see if the whales would be interested in coming to check us out. To our luck, these 3 whales spent almost an hour circling our boat. We had the time of our life getting to witness these magical giants up closer than we have ever seen before.
Swimming with the Humpback Whales
If you're travelling during Humpback whale season, you might even be lucky enough to get to swim with the whales. We were instructed that if we wanted this encounter to keep our wetsuits on while on the boat, allowing us to be ready for when the moment arises. To our luck, it did with these 3 whales swimming right up and under our boat multiple times! Everyone had the opportunity to jump in the water holding onto the boats ropes as the whales swam right by! It is only possible so long as the conditions are right and there are no baby whale calfs with their mothers, it is not always a guarantee.
We had seen other tour companies advertising full day tours allowing you to swim with the whales as the only experience for $190 per adult. We have friends who have taken these tours before and due to the conditions sometimes they don't get the chance to swim with them at all. For that reason, we think this this is a far better value tour offering a range of other opportunities throughout the day to enjoy the beauty of Fraser Island while on the lookout for whales.
Bowarrady Blow Sand Dune Fraser Island
Our final afternoon stop on the tour was to the Bowarrady Blow Sand Dune on Fraser Island. We climb to the top of this soft white sand dune to witness some of the most stunning views over Platypus Bay and the Great Sandy Straits. Don't worry, it's only a couple of minutes walk to reach the top.
Bowarrady Creek, Fraser Island
After climbing back down from the sand dune we made our way to Bowarrady creek for a quick fresh water dip before boarding your tour boat bound back for Hervey bay. We loved the beautiful afternoon sun glow from this spot!
We recommended booking a stay along the Esplanade or at the Sandy Straits Marina. Check out these amazing accomodation options. If you book via our link, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
We hope you enjoyed our guide and review of the Remote Fraser Island Tour by Tasman Ventures in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. You can book your tour directly with Tasman Ventures here. To see more of our other Australian destination guides click here.
This tour was gifted to us by Tasman Ventures Tours. The opinions of this post are based on our genuine review and experience.
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LITTLE SHERPAs
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