Fraser Island to Urangan - Along the Great Sandy Strait

The Great Sandy Strait extends north from Tin Can Bay to Hervey Bay and separates Fraser Island from mainland. It is a complex landscape of mangroves, sandbars and islands and is an important habitat for fish, crustaceans, dugongs, dolphins and turtles. Although there are many shoal areas and drying banks it is possible to navigate using the tidal ranges.

After spending a day in Garry's anchorage we decided to keep going along the strait up to the Kingfisher Resort in Fraser Island where boats can anchor along the beach. We left about 2 hours before the high tide so that we would cross the Sheridan Flats, the shallowest part, with a rising tide in case we touch ground. With the new chart plotter display at the helm it was mostly easy navigation through the flats even when a 3 knots helping current made it almost impossible to slow down on the shallow bits. There was only one spot, at the northern tip of Tooth Island where the chart did not agree with the navigation marks and we got confused as the Red can did not seem to make a lot of sense but the rule is trust the navigation aids, so we did, the depth sounder went down to 1.4 mts and we passed (we draw about 0.80 from where our depth sounder is located). No more excitements after that and we reached the Kingfisher Bay resort where we anchored.

There is a ferry that brings cars and people to the island and resort, and this being the long Queen's Birthday weekend, the ferry was unloading cars and people quite frequently. Right after sunset we went on shore to check the resort. It is about 200 meters from the beach and it is quite nice. They have several restaurants and we decided to give us a treat and try their buffet dinner. 

Luckily we left the dinghy tied to the pier as the tide had gone down and we were not in the mood to wet our feet in a long walk to reach waters deep enough for the dinghy, specially in the chill of the night after having read unconfirmed sighting of a croc (yes, a crocodile) in the vicinity of the hotel.

Forecast of several days of strong winds and we decide to hide in a marina in Urangan. The town is part of Hervey Bay and is located in the mainland across from Fraser Island. One of the attractions here is whale watching tours. Each year humpbacks whales migrate to the eastern coast of Australia. Groups of whales or 'pods' start to arrive at the southern Great Barrier Reef in mid-June and in the following weeks they move further along the reef concentrating in the southern Whitsundays area. On the southern migration back to Antarctic waters, a large proportion of the whales stop over for a few days in Hervey Bay. Most humpbacks will have left the Queensland coast by the beginning of November. This whale behavior makes Hervey Bay a centre of whale watching tours. The whale watching guidelines state that a vessel should stop 300 meters from a whale but the whales do not know the rules and often they swim up to the side of the boat. We are a bit wary of whales and rather don’t find them. It is known that whales may be sleeping or resting on the surface and will not detect a catamaran approaching with the disastrous result of the boat hitting the whale.

In the marina, watching the rain with the pelicans

We have an easy sail and arrive at the marina just as the weather starts to deteriorate. There is a chilly wind and we are happy to be tucked in a berth. Even the pelicans don't seem happy with this kind of weather.

 Hoping for better days to do a bit of sightseeing around this historical area before continuing on our way north.