Find your retirement haven in Hervey Bay and enrich your downsizing dream in the region where some of nature’s most wondrous creatures frolic. So can you.
Just three and a half hours’ drive north of Brisbane, Hervey Bay lies between the mainland and World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. Renowned for its visiting humpback whales, it is the world’s first Whale Heritage Site. Each winter, from late July to August, Hervey Bay celebrates the Festival Of The Whale with music, theatre, and even parades. It’s what makes this destination so vibrant and special to the people who live here.
You may also enjoy discovering its many restaurants and cafes along with leisure activities, which include swimming, water sports, and diving to behold Australia’s largest artificial reef with over 50 underwater sites of different compositions. It’s teeming with different species of fish and coral reefs.
Escape From The Urban Jungle In Hervey Bay
Breathe in the fresh sea air and take in the awesome waterfront esplanade - an almost 17km stretch of walking track, situated between the Urangan Pier and Gataker’s Bay. This is where you’ll mingle with locals as they go about their day, walking, cycling, and exercising. There’s a restaurant and shopping precinct just on the other side, which also adds to this pleasant lifestyle where you may enjoy cafe hopping and watching the world go by.
Keeping Your Cool In Hervey Bay.
Hervey Bay is approximately 500 km south of the Tropic of Capricorn and enjoys a subtropical climate shared by most of Queensland with pleasant weather all year round.
As a coastal paradise, the heat is moderated by sea breezes due to the area's proximity to the ocean.
The climate follows a rhythm of hot, wet summers and mild, dry winters. February is the hottest and most humid month of the year when you will have to crank up the air conditioning. The temperature then is around 30 degrees and the coldest month is July but it’s still around 21 degrees. January is usually the wettest month, while September is usually the driest month of the year and Hervey Bay is a beautiful place to welcome spring.
Arriving Is Easy, Leaving Is Hard...
Well, why would you wish to turn your back on this natural paradise? Hervey Bay Airport is 10 minutes out of town with both Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Airlines flying in daily from Brisbane, with an hour’s flight time. There are also direct flights from Sydney and an airport shuttle service gets you into town.
You can drive from Brisbane in around 4 hours via Marlborough on the Bruce Highway. Or take a coach ride with several lines arriving there throughout the day, including Greyhound and Premier, from Brisbane.
Queensland Rail operates services from Brisbane to Hervey Bay with the train terminating at Marlborough and then take an air-conditioned coach the rest of the way.
Once in Harvey Bay, public transport options include regular bus services and taxis.
Where To Find Your Place In The Sun
The good news about Hervey Bay is that you can buy a waterfront home, for far less than a Sydney apartment with no view. The best suburb is Point Vernon, which boasts a walkway and cycleway, beautiful swimming beaches including some that are dog friendly. It’s the best place to watch the sunset, so perfect for sybarites. Other notable areas include the quiet seaside village of Burrum Heads with a bowling green, golf, fishing, cycling, tai chi in the park and large craft groups - perfect for retirees. There’s Craignish - which is clean and green with a semi-rural feel but it’s close to town and the beach. Or the newish suburb of Dundowran Beach, which is 6km from town but with lots of green space including beautiful gardens and lagoons filled with waterlilies, waterbirds, and turtles. It’s one for the dreamer.
Other notable areas include Eli Waters, Torquay, Urangan, and Pialba.
See all the retirement living properties currently available in Hervey Bay and surrounds here
Living Your Best Life For Less
Hervey Bay has a thriving retirement community spread out throughout the different areas and quite affordable prices with two-bedroom homes often coming in at around $275K.
Away from the retirement villages, the median price of housing in Hervey Bay is around $380k with units at around $277k.
It’s easy to live well here with a three-course meal for two, costing around $75. Big supermarket chains also keep the cost of your grocery shop down. As with all tourist areas, prices go up as holidaymakers descend on Harvey Bay but Australia’s closed borders have meant that their numbers have been curtailed.
Coastal Dining Is At Its Best At Hervey Bay
If you’ve ever wondered how delicious the food on the TV cooking show MKR tasted, now is the time to discover it for yourself at one of Hervey Bay’s best cafes. Eat At Dan & Steph’s, is owned by the 2013 MKR winners Dan & Steph Mulheron. It’s an excellent place to brunch on The Esplanade.
Other Hervey Bay institutions include Enzo’s On The Beach in Scarness. There’s a diverse range of ethnic cuisines represented here including Japanese, Indian, Thai, Turkish and Middle Eastern and for seafood lovers, it really is a moveable feast.
Shopping Is Taken Seriously In Hervey Bay
If you love big, shopping malls, the three main ones to consider here include Stockland Hervey Bay, Eli Waters and the exclusive Pialba Place. They offer high street brands as well as eclectic fashion and trinkets you may not find anywhere else. There are also shopping strips in most areas. Don’t miss the local markets including The Urangan Pier Park Community markets. They boast fresh, organic produce stalls, local arts and crafts, fashion, toys, flower stalls, jewellery, food stalls, live entertainment and children’s activities. These weekly markets are run by a committee of volunteers who are also stallholders and is a not for profit organisation. All proceeds, after running costs, are donated to local charities and community groups. Now that’s very Hervey Bay.
Taking Really Good Care Of Yourself
There are private health clinics in most areas with several major hospitals including Hervey Bay Hospital in Pialba, which has a range of services including Emergency Medicine, Renal, Orthopaedics and a cancer centre. St Stephens Hospital, in Urraween, which is part of Uniting Health Care, also offers a range of surgical choices including cardiac services; ear, nose and throat, vascular and urological procedures.
There’s also a good choice of private hospitals in Hervey Bay and super clinics, so you‘ll never be far from specialist help should you need it.
Living It Up In Hervey Bay
You’ll literally have a whale of a time, watching these majestic creatures from July to November. Or you could take a cruise on a glass-bottomed boat to wonder at the coral and the fascinating sea creatures in the Great Sandy Marine Park
On land again, there are 26 hectares to explore in the Botanic gardens of the Urangan region, which also attracts fascinating birdlife.
There are also fishing expeditions, kangaroo sightings at Port Vernon, Wetside Water Park for the younger members of your extended family and many sporting clubs including golf. Really, you won’t just find one haven in Hervey Bay when there’s so many on offer.
Pros
- Plenty of outdoor activities
- Healthy lifestyle
- The water is warm at around 28 to 30 degrees, so swim all year round.
- No bluebottles
- Subtropical climate
Cons
- Plenty of wildlife, so you need to take precautions
- Watch out for the sandfly areas
- The area around Hervey Bay attracts plenty of tourists and higher prices in the peak season.
See all the retirement living properties currently available in Hervey Bay and surrounds here
