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KINGFISHER BAY RESORT
From Lake McKenzie it was just a short drive to the Kingfisher Bay Resort. This 10-acre resort is like a mini town. There are four swimming pools, three restaurants, a spa, kids' club, tennis court, general store, post office and even a gas station. It's situated in the forest next to the beach and to keep guests protected from the dingoes (wild dogs that look harmless but aren't), it's fenced in. The only place you are not protected is on the beach.

OUR ROOM
There two types of accommodations available – villas or standard rooms in two separate two-level buildings. Natalie and I were in the latter and found the rooms to be pretty basic with thin walls but clean. Although you're out in the bush, rooms come with a TV, phone, air conditioning, shower/bathtub and a balcony with screened-in doors. What's nice about the Kingfisher is that everything was designed to minimize any effects on the natural environment, conserve energy and minimize waste. They have been so successful that they've won six Australian Tourism awards and won the Best Beach Resort in Australia by Discovery's Travel Channel.

INTERNET: The resort has wireless Internet available in the enormous lobby but it wasn't free and was too slow for me to actually work.

THE FOOD
This is definitely a family-friendly hotel so be prepared to wait in long lines at the Sand Bar Bistro when it opens at 6pm. To wait 45 minutes standing in line to just order your food, then to have it be barely edible was my biggest disappointment. Their food really was lousy ... and wasn't cheap to boot. To be fair, we didn't try either of the two fancy restaurants on site (we couldn't get a reservation) but the breakfast we had at one of them was excellent. In addition to your typical full breakfast buffet, they had a juicer and honeycomb, which you don't see every day.

TOURS
The hotel offers a number of tours, day and night. Many are free but free or not, you need to make advance reservations as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could find yourself out of luck … like me. Instead of going on walks with informed rangers, I was forced to find the native birds and wildlife on my own; it wasn't difficult but it would have been nice to have had some insight. Next time, I will definitely make reservations either when I book or the moment I arrive. Room rates begin at $190AUD and hotel checkout is at 10am. If you're taking a ferry, your bags need to be ready by 8am. Kingfisher Bay Resort For bookings call reservations at 1-800 072 555 or email reservations@kingfisherbay.com.

WHALE WATCHING
One of the tours that Natalie and I were able to sign up for was the four-hour whale-watching excursion (adult: $100, child $55). The high-speed catamaran departs right at 8am from the Kingfisher dock and it took about an hour ride before we spotted our first whale. The ride along the coast of Fraser to Hervey Bay was relaxing and smooth. I thought we saw a lot with Hayden, cruising in his SUV, but seeing the island by boat made me realize that we'd barely even touched the rest of the island.



THE BOAT
The boat is your typical two-floor machine – it's just like the ferries servicing Nantucket and Catalina Island. There was plenty of seating both indoors and out. I tend to get seasick when I go indoors on a boat so I always stay outside. The fresh air and staring at the horizon is my best remedy, though I also hear eating a green apple helps. But I didn't get sick nor did I see any of the other 100 passengers looking queasy.

HERVEY BAY
Hervey Bay is supposed to be one of the best places in the world to see the more than 1,500 humpback whales migrating south from the Whitsunday Islands to the Antarctic. We learned August through October are the best months to view them. One reason it's thought that the whales travel so far is not only to give birth to their one-ton calves in warm water, but also to stay away from their predator, the Killer Whale. These gentle beasts have a miraculous 99% birth rate. What's funny is that they are the largest mammal in the ocean but they eat krill, tiny shrimp-like crustaceans, which are at the bottom of the food chain.

We saw about 15 whales in total and it was truly amazing to watch them up close. The last whales we came in contact with were a 12-meter long mother and her calf. They kept circling the boat. Then the calf would breach (jump out of the water) to the screams of all the passengers. Turns out these whales are total attention-seekers. Supposedly they like being in the spotlight. It was so incredible to see these majestic mammals, the size of school buses, move. For their size, they are so beautiful and graceful. The four-hour tour was too short and no one was ready to make the 90-minute trek back. However, the ride home was almost as remarkable and at times, the water was clear and blue, I could see marine life. Looking down, I saw small sharks, turtles and fish. What a day!

NORTH AMERICAN HUMPBACKS
The North American Humpbacks makes the opposite migration of the Southern Humpbacks. Ours travel from the Arctic to Mexico in January, February and March. To get a better understanding, check out this link and click "start" in the bottom right of the picture.

OVERALL
What can I say? It all started with the incredible flight over and ended with whale breaching. Obviously, this place is special but I have to agree with National Geographic Traveler, which just featured Fraser Island in their Islands of the World ratings. They said it's one of the great sand islands of the world but that it's under threat from excessive visitor numbers and is being 'loved to death' and that some machines (planes, buses and SUVs) have got to go! Check out these Australia sale fares on Qantas from $998 R/T*!

VIDEO
Here's a four-minute Johnny Jet video of my trip to Fraser Island. We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK
Join us next week as we finish off our trip to Australia by visiting the country's third largest city.

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Happy Travels,
Johnny Jet

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Note: This trip was sponsored by Australia.com.




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