Things to do with kids in Hervey Bay & the Fraser Coast

This perched lake on K'gari has clear blue water ringed by white sand, a short walk from three fenced picnic areas. It's busiest between 10.30am and 3pm, so arrive early or late. Dingoes visit, so no food or drinks other than water on the shore, and keep children within arm's reach.

Eli Creek is the largest freshwater creek on K'gari's Eastern Beach. Walk the 400m boardwalk upstream, then drop gently into the clear water and float back down to the beach. The beach drive is only passable two hours either side of low tide, in a high-clearance 4WD or on a tour.

These rock pools at ocean level fizz like a spa when waves break over their walls, best at mid-tide. A 700m return boardwalk around the headland leads there; take a dip only if conditions are safe. Look out to sea for turtles, dolphins, manta rays and, in season, humpback whales.

A 1.9km return walk, about an hour, leads through coastal forest to the red, yellow, orange and brown sand walls of Rainbow Gorge. Walk 200m through the gorge, then follow the markers onto the Kirrar Sand Blow to see wind ripples in the sand. The track starts about 17km north of Eurong on the Eastern Beach drive.

Urangan Pier reaches almost a kilometre over Hervey Bay, so kids can watch fish below and seabirds overhead. Dolphins and turtles are sometimes spotted, and whales during the migration. Humpbacks rest in Hervey Bay from July to October, when whale-watching cruises leave from town.

Torquay Beach sits on the Hervey Bay Esplanade, where calm, shallow water suits young children for paddling and sandcastles. Kilometres of waterfront paths run beside the beaches, so bring the scooters or bikes.

Queens Park in Maryborough is one of Australia's earliest botanic gardens, with river views, a waterfall, a playground and barbecues. Every Thursday and on the last Sunday of the month, the Mary Ann and several miniature steam engines give rides around the park. The Mary Ann is a replica of Queensland's first steam engine.

PL Travers, author of the Mary Poppins stories, was born upstairs in this Maryborough bank building. Kids can explore interactive displays about her characters, a Cabinet of Curiosities and a Library of Inspiration. It's closed on Mondays; family entry for two adults and two or more children was $35 in October 2026.