Monday 17th January, 2011 9:00am
Hervey Bay / Fraser Island / Lady Elliot Island - BUSINESS AS USUAL !
The sun is shining, the ground is dry underfoot at last, and the conditions could not be better for visiting Hervey Bay, Lady Elliot Island, or Fraser Island. As a result of the media coverage of the floods, and the damage in other parts of the state, there have been a LOT of cancellations into the end of this month. The Bay and the Islands are very quiet, so it has NEVER been better to take an opportunity to see some of the most magnificent destinations in Australia without the crowds!!
There has been NO damage or impact to Hervey Bay, Fraser or Lady Elliot Islands from the rains and floods. In fact, water visibility at Lady Elliot is approx 25 - 30 meters!!! The baby Loggerhead and Green turtles are hatching on Lady Elliot, and the tracks on Fraser have been compacted by the rain, making driving a lot easier and safer than is usual at this time of year.
Road, Rail, Bus and Air - ALL access to Hervey Bay and the East Coast of Australia is open and operating without constraint and to normal timetables. In fact, there are some great bargains for Rail and Air travel ... so check out VirginBlue and Qantas for the Australia Day weekend!
Unless there are further issues later in the season, I will cease updates today, but this page will continue to exist for future issues with weather or travel ... so if you are a regular visitor to the Bay, bookmark this page for future info on road closures and access issues.
Saturday 15th January 9:00am
Hervey Bay Forecast - Possible shower, mostly fine Min 21 - Max 29
Sun shining on another great day in Hervey Bay. Check out these photos taken yesterday on Fraser Island by Fraser Experience Hummer Tours. When was the last time you saw the Maheno Shipwreck with only 2 people there!!!! Fantastic uncrowded conditions on Fraser .... the rain has improved the tracks as can be seen by the second photo.
Road and Rail - Bruce Highway is now open from Brisbane to Cairns. No
issues, and conditions are surprisingly good. I had a report from a friend
who drove to the Gold Coast today in 4 1/2 hours - which is what it would
normally take - very little traffic on roads.
Bus and Air - No problems with bus or air. Greyhound has resumed its
normal services, with the only remaining affected routes between Brisbane
and Toowoomba.
Tours - Come to Hervey Bay now!!! It couldn't be better!! Great weather and amazing conditions on both islands without the crowds normally associated with this time of year!
Friday 14th January 8:00am
Hervey Bay Forecast - Possible shower, mostly fine Min 22 - Max 29
Another beautiful sunny and warm morning in Hervey Bay this morning. Scattered cloud offers the possibility of a shower, but otherwise it is perfect weather to be visiting Fraser island or Lady Elliot Island!
Road and Rail - Bruce Highway south and north of Gympie was re-opened at 4:00pm yesterday afternoon. There are no reported difficulties with travel from Brisbane to the Fraser Coast. The Bruce Highway at Rockhampton will be re-opened at 4:00pm today (Friday) to heavy transport vehicles only after being closed for almost 2 weeks. An assessment will be made as to when the road will be open to general traffic, but it is hoped that will be imminent. At present north-bound Tilt Train services will still terminate at Gladstone. Services through to Cairns will likely be resumed ASAP.
Bus and Air - Greyhound will resume the majority of services between Brisbane and Cairns today. The GX446 service Agnes Waters - Brisbane will not operate today, GX419 Cairns - Townsville will not operate today, and GX401 Brisbane to Cairns will operate Hervey Bay to Cairns only. All servcies Brisbane to Cairns will operate to schedule from tomorrow. All air routes are unaffected, with some great specials to fly to Fraser Coast! Sydney return flights are vailable from $176 on VirginBlue.
Tours - All tours are operating as normal to Fraser Island and LAdy Elliot Island. Due to the significant number of cancellations over the past week visitors are being treated to the best conditions we have seen in years!! Low group numbers for tours, few people on the Islands, and an unprecedented opportunity to see wildlife. It is like it was 20 years ago!! Escape the crowds and enjoy the sunshine - lots to do and everything is open and operating as per normal!
Thursday 13th January 8:00am
Hervey Bay Forecast - Possible shower, mostly fine Min 21 - Max 29 (Similar forecast until Monday)
Sun shining on a beautiful day in Hervey Bay as the devastation continues in Brisbane. A sliver of good news this morning as the flood peak in Brisbane was approx 0.6m below forecast, and the flood waters are now receding, with 5000 homes less than forecast affected by flood waters. Flood waters will recede slowly over the next few days and many will not be able to re-enter houses for the clean-up until the weekend. Power in the Brisbane CBD will be phased back on over the course of today.
Road and Rail - Bruce Highway south and north of Gympie will likely be re-opened tomorrow. Bruce Highway remains closed north and south of Gympie and also at Rockhampton. Tilt Train services between Brisbane and Gladstone (servicing Hervey Bay and Maryborough) continue to run as scheduled, with no disruptions today due to flooding in Brisbane.
Bus and Air - At present Greyhound is not operating Hervey Bay to Brisbane but IS operating Hervey Bay to Gladstone and Town of 1770. Visit Greyound for up to date information on Greyhound Services. Hervey Bay airport continues to operate as per normal with return flights from Sydney on VirginBlue available from $176, and from Brisbane on QantasLink from $258. Seats are available on all routes from today. For visitors trying to travel north from Hervey Bay, flights are available from Gladstone (3 hrs drive north of Hervey Bay) to Mackay on QantasLink from $205. Multiple flights are available daily from Gladstone to Brisbane from $94.
Queensland Tourism - Most tourist destinations and tours in Queensland are currently operating as per normal, with some areas limited only by road access. With flood waters receding, most road arteries servicing tourist destinations will likely be restored in the next few days. For information on travel and tours in other tourist areas of Queensland please see the Tourism Queensland website.
Wednesday 12th January 11:00am
Hervey Bay / Fraser Island / Lady Elliot Island - BUSINESS AS USUAL !A beautiful sunny day today!! Whilst Hervey Bay has had a larger than average rainfall over the past weeks we have thankfully been spared the volume of rain and flooding experienced by areas only a few hours drive away. To put it in context, over the past week the following rainfall has been recorded : Hervey Bay 157mm, Maryborough 184mm, Brisbane 227mm, Noosa 359mm, and Gympie 373mm.
Tours - Tours to Lady Elliot and Fraser Island have not been impacted by weather and have been operating as per normal. Tracks on Fraser Island have, in fact, been positively impacted by the rain, with sand being compacted and improving driving conditions. Those who have been travelling to Fraser Island and Lady Elliot Island have been enjoying unusually uncrowded tours and sites, and the small groups are a big positive to those that have managed to arrive by air this week.
Lady Elliot island has been totally uneffected by the recent rains, and these images were taken yesterday by the dive team. As you can see water visibility is in excess of 25 metres. These images were taken along the Hervey Bay Esplanade yesterday.
Email: relax@emeraldene.com.au
Phone: 07 4124 5500 Fax: 07 4124 0218
International: +61 7 4124 5500
166 Urraween Road, Hervey Bay
Sustainable and Eco-friendly Hervey Bay Accommodation
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Emeraldene Inn & Eco-Lodge
Multi Award Winning Hervey Bay Accommodation
Winner - Fraser Coast Tourism Awards 2009 - 2012
Hervey Bay and Queensland Flood information
Access to Hervey Bay - At present Road access to Hervey Bay is limited due to road closures on the Bruce highway south of Gympie and north of Gladstone. Travel by air or rail (Tilt Train) has not been affected by flooding and is the preferred method of travel to Hervey Bay at present.
Bus - At present Greyhound is not operating Hervey Bay to Brisbane but IS operating Hervey Bay to Gladstone and Town of 1770. Visit Greyound for up to date information on Greyhound Services.
For latest road closures and updates visit the Queensland Government Traffic and Travel site or the RACQ Road Conditions site.
Outlook - Visitor numbers are low in Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and Lady Elliot Island and the weather is looking great for the immediate future, so if you can get to Hervey Bay by air or rail at present you will enjoy great touring conditions. Flood waters are currently beginning to subside in Gympie and Maryborough, with flood waters heading south and currently affecting Brisbane. We are hoping that road access from Brisbane to Hervey Bay will be restored by early next week at the latest. Please monitor this page and the links on this page for further updates.
Queensland Tourism - For information on travel and tours in other tourist areas of Queensland please see the Tourism Queensland website.
Feel free to contact me directly for more information. Email Rob
Queensland Flood Information Updates - Hervey Bay / Fraser Island
This page is only updated when floods are affecting travel in Queensland
Wednesday 27th Feb, 2013 - 9:00am
The forecast heavy rains for overnight did not eventuate, and forecasts for the next week have now been downgraded to minor showers. Floodwaters in Gympie have peaked and are now receding. At present the Bruce Highway is closed south of Gympie. The highway will remain closed until tomorrow morning (Thursday 28th Feb). There is no viable alternative route by travelling west. Travellers heading north of the Sunshine Coast / Brisbane should not plan on getting through Gympie until at least Thursday.
Access to Hervey Bay is clear via the northern entrances to Maryborough at Maryborough West. The Torbanlea Road to Hervey Bay is currently closed.
Further north the Town of 1770 and Agnes Waters is isolated and there will be no access likely before Thursday.
For current updates visit the Government Department of Main Roads site here, or come back to this page for more updates.
If you are stuck and travelling south, the sun is making brief appearances and tours to Fraser Island and Lady Elliot Island are proceeding with small group sizes! We have plenty of vacancies so why not stop over in Hervey Bay until the roads clear and the initial backed-up traffic abates. You can check out our Hervey Bay Accommodation at the Emeraldene Inn here, and our prices and availability here.
Hervey Bay's Tour & Accommodation Specialists
Emeraldene Inn & Eco-Lodge
Multi Award Winning Hervey Bay Accommodation
Winner - Fraser Coast Tourism Awards 2009 - 2012
