We last visited Hervey Bay when Kate was tiny so it would have to have been over 20 years ago. Then it was a pretty spot with a nice rustic harbour and fabulous views of Fraser Island.

It now the airport has been upgraded and has flights to Brisbane and Sydney daily. The harbour area is full of holiday high rise and a shopping precinct to rival any modern town with every fast food, supermarket and hardware store known to man.

So based on that we decided to get out of town for a drive to surrounding areas and give the town a miss altogether albeit that we are camped near the older Urangan area close to the Esplanade and beach away from the worst of it (too much time in the country has made us city allergic I think)

We headed over to Toogoom and Barrum Heads through quite nice resdential developments with good sized blocks of land some with nice ocean views. Then down to Maryborough. I remember this town from our previous trip as being quite special and it has not changed a bit. Lovely parks fronting a large river, many old hotels, the majority still open, with classic Australian pub architecture. A great port area with the old steam railway intact and functioning for tourists once a week. The old customs building now a museum and much more. However what I think makes the town is the fabulous collection of old 'Queenslander' raised weatherboard houses with verandahs all around. It is the best town we have seen for these type of homes and there are thousands of them in varying condition

Then back via River Heads, the ferry terminal for Fraser Island, and stopping to view some land for sale with fabulous views of Sandy Straights and the Island itself. Quite spectacular on what was a cloudless 27c day

Off Whale watching tommorow. Apparently they are in abundance out off Fraser Island with their offspring so lets hope we have a close encounter and get some great photos