@Quincy
Looking at who is staying with us tonight, we have India, UK, Germany, France, Canada and 3 sets of Australian guests. We are really lucky at this time of the year because the whales have arrived! A few days ago was the first sighting of a baby - a "premie" they think as this is a bit early and the baby looked small. They call Hervey Bay the whale kindergarten. The whales come here to have their calves and teach them survival skills in the safe bay before heading South again in late October or early November so winter is a peak holiday time for us. It is a pretty steady 22-24 degrees so we also get guests from the Southern States wanting to thaw out for a bit especially the Grey Nomads. I love the overseas visitors who go swimming in the sea in winter! You wouldn't catch me doing that so I guess it is vicarious sharing of their enjoyment.
We are also the Southernmost point of the GBR so many travellers who cannot see all of QLD come here to visit Lady Elliot Island. We are also a 30 minute boat ride to Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world. It is like landing on another planet when you go there. Different eco systems and it is a rainforest - in the sand! Fraser Island is definitely on most travellers to Australia must see list.
It is fantastic that the whales coincide with a lot of international school holiday dates as we have a lot of overseas families travelling at this time. In Australia the school year starts in January and they have a lot of holidays through the year but not a long break in summer as they do in other countries. This is a favourite time when lots of guests from around the globe get to have a really magical visit to the region.
Not sure if you wanted such a long reply, but I figured you could do with a chatty reply every now and again, Lisa
