Following our big initial trip we dialled down the pace. We are still planning to go to Lady Musgrave but it won’t be with Jessy and Shane unfortunately.
Tin Can Bay
Tin Can Bay is a coastal town and located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The area is split between the Fraser Coast Region and the Gympie Region, but the town itself is within the Gympie Region.
The marina was small but is located right in the middle of town. We slowly made our way there from our previous anchorage as the river can get rather shallow, especially nearer to the marina.
The only berth remaining was just the right size for our boat but didn’t leave much room for error given the breadth of our neighbour, luckily we were helped by another yachty that saw us coming in! The tide was calm and the wind wasn’t blowing, which also made the mooring less painful.
Even though the marina offers a courtesy car we didn’t need it, everything we needed was a 30 min walk or less from the marina. We enjoyed a big lunch at the Snack Shack, had dinners at the local pub, and started our days at Bay Press Cafe or at Barnacles. That last location also offers Dolphin feeding between 7 am and 8 am.
The Great Sandy Straight
The Great Sandy Strait is a strait in the Australian state of Queensland which is 70 kilometres in length, separating mainland Queensland from Fraser Island.
The Great Sandy Straight is a mandatory passage if you are planning to pass the Wide Bay Bar. We passed it on our way north and our plan at the moment is not to pass it again on our way south, instead we will go around the outside of Fraser Island.
It’s lengthy and it has both a particularly strong and high tide. Due to this we have had to time our passages in order to avoid wasting fuel and time. You can probably sail it on good days but we weren’t too lucky with the weather and we didn’t have time to wait for it.
We bypassed Garrys anchorage and stayed east of its location just before the first shallow waters. We decided to skip it in order avoid mosquito and Crocodile 🐊 territory! If we had more time we would have gone there and tried one of the hikes that can be found from the beach.
Kingfisher Bay resort
Kingfisher Bay resort was a great place to stop at and relax. Day visitors are welcomed and can book activities, which is great for yachties!
The resort offers a large amount of accommodations, and activities. The 4WD tour takes the entire day and was around $250. We skipped it as Erica and I had already done it the year before. Instead we opted to relax, enjoy the swimming pools, hot tub and walks.
There are a few self-guided walks options. One is 6h return, we did a 2h (8 km / 5 miles) one by combining WWII Commando School Walk Route and McKenzie’s Jetty Walk Low Tide Route.
Our days usually started with coffee on the boat, a breakfast, and a dinghy ride to shore. We had to carry our dinghy a few times as the high tide is not something you want to forget. The mud at low tide was also quite a challenge. It is a thick gooey clay that in some spots can be almost knee deep – would recommend shoes that are firmly attached, we had one shoe casualty in our party! Best to avoid it if possible.
Note: a lesson learned after a few trips from the boat to the beach at Kingfisher Bay was that we should regularly check how much fuel we have in our outboard engine. Thanks to Peter who gave us a precious and much needed hand that day! Lets just say we were glad that the sun was setting in the other direction, less people to witness our ordeal.
Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay, a coastal city in southern Queensland, is widely known as a site for observing humpback whales. It’s also a hub for tours to nearby Fraser Island, which has beaches and features a rainforest habitat for dingoes and other wildlife. A waterfront esplanade links the city’s marina with beaches offering calm waters for swimming.
Hervey Bay was our last stop with Jessy and Shane. It was also their 1st wedding anniversary and Jessy’s birthday. Living so far away from them, we considered ourselves lucky to be there some of these special days.
We wanted a berth so we could easily get to shore and find a place to celebrate. Urangan Boat Harbour has three marinas:
- Great Sandy Straits
- Hervey Bay Boat Club
- Fisherman’s Wharf Marina
The only place that had a berth from Sunday the 13th to Thursday the 17th of November was Fisherman’s Wharf Marina, and it was a berth for a 17m boat. On the plus side we had a spot and plenty of space to manoeuvre.
The marina is simple but had all the basic amenities, electricity, fresh water, showers, a small laundromat, and access to a petrol station about 5 mins walk away. The only drawback was no public trolley and no grocery store in a walkable proximity.
Note: Sam, the harbour manager was amazing. She cares about visitors and is really helpful about local commerce and services. Thank you!
During our stay we discovered a great Mexican restaurant, Tres Salsas. We walked along most of the promenade, which despite the heat was a nice walk thanks to its shaded pathway. We also celebrated Jessy’s birthday and Jessy and Shane’s anniversary at a nice little restaurant walkable from our marina called Cafe Baleana.
On the 16th it was then time to drop off Jessy and Shane at the airport. We had such an amazing 10 days with them. Thank you for your trust and help through the beginning of our journey.
… and now more work. We learned how to use a pump out station, we cleaned our holding tank, and we installed a water meter. That will be such an improvement to track our fresh water consumption, not to mention alleviate the captain’s concerns when we are away from the dock for a longer period of time 😅.
After extending our stay in Hervey Bay for 1 more night at the marina, we are off to Bundaberg.
the Adventures of Erica and Nico 
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