Latest news with #HerveyBay
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Boat full of tourists 'in tears' after once-in-a-lifetime encounter off Aussie coast
A tour operator has shared the remarkable moment a boat full of tourists ticked an incredible encounter off their bucket lists off the coast of Australia. The video, taken in Queensland's Hervey Bay, shows two curious humpback whales coming up to say hello to a group of swimmers in the water and getting within inches of the group. Blue Dolphin Marine Tours owner Peter Lynch told Yahoo News the visitors in the water, as well as those on the boat, were left with "tears in their eyes" directly after the once-in-a-lifetime experience. "They were blown away," he recalled of the exciting moment in August last year, which was reshared online ahead of the start of the season this Saturday, July 12. In recent weeks, whales have been spotted making their way up both the east and west coasts of Australia as part of their annual migration from the cooler feeding waters of Antarctica to tropical regions of the Great Barrier Reef, where they mate and give birth. Queensland is one of the top spots to see the humpback whales up close, with Hervey Bay particularly special, according to Peter. Unlike parts of the east coast in Victoria and New South Wales, the bay's sheltered waters between Queensland's coastline and K'gari, make it a place for resting, nursing their young and socialising. It's a common rest stop, where the animals may stay for up to a few weeks before continuing their migration. The video, he said, "Shows you why Hervey Bay is Australia's premier whale watching destination." Getting in the water with one of the gentle giants, Peter believes, is a humbling experience for his customers. "It fills their soul," he said. Whale boat operators in the area have licences to conduct commercial activity, and part of that licence is the ability to swim with the whales, so long as a code of conduct is adhered to. "We don't swim with mums and calves, or aggressive animals. If a shark's inside the area, we don't swim. So we only swim with those curious, friendly whales that tend to come to the boats and look at people anyway," he explained. Peter said that it's "not overly common" to get quite so close to the whales, like the lucky tourists in the video, because several factors are at play. "You're relying on nice weather, calm seas, the clear water visibility and then the friendly whales wanting to check you out," he said. Peter said that his company doesn't charge extra to tourists who want to get in the water, so as not to put pressure on the experience. "We do it on the whale's terms, we don't charge extra because it's opportunistic. It happens when it happens," he explained. But even if the opportunity doesn't arise to get in the water, he believes that visitors can still witness "a great mugging" or incredible breaches. 🤍 Aussie's 'dream-like' moment during incredibly rare ocean encounter 🐳 Photo of elusive creature off Aussie coast reveals incredible feat 🛥️ Incredible event 'triggered by full moon' off famous Aussie coast Peter has worked with whales and dolphins for over 40 years and even met his wife Jodie when she was a customer on the boat. But for him, the biggest thrill is "seeing the joy on people's faces". "We don't do this as a job, this is a passion and a lifestyle choice. We feel really honoured to take people out and give them an experience of a lifetime." He says he still gets contacted by former guests who tell him it was one of the "best days of their lives". "We take what we do seriously in the sense it's people's discretionary spending. They've entrusted us to give them the best possible experience," he said. "It's a real privilege to take people out who want to be there." This season, he's looking forward to supporting the citizen science project Happy Whale, where everyday Aussies and tourists get the opportunity to document and photograph the whales. "A humpback whale's tail is like a fingerprint," he said. Each individual's tail is unique, which makes it easy to identify them. Anybody can upload a photograph and then be contacted whenever that whale is spotted again. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Encore: Janty Blair is the BMW of standup comics
Janty Blair's father, Bob, was a staff sergeant in the Australian Army, and so she grew up moving around the country. Home for Janty, a Butchulla, Mununjhali and Woppaburra woman, was really Hervey Bay in Queensland, where she would go on trips every year to visit her aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents, all of whom were stomach-achingly funny. While Janty loved performing in the school musicals, she was quite a serious child and didn't find her funny bone until later in life. Instead of following her childhood dream of becoming an actress, Janty became a nurse and then a midwife. But in her 50s, Janty went on a serendipitous date. Two days later, she was performing in her first stand-up open mic night, and just a few months later she was crowned the winner of the biggest First Nations comedy competition in the country. Further information Originally broadcast July 2024. You can keep up to date with Janty's tour schedule by visiting her website. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Filthy' detail in Macca's store horrifies customer
A social media video has revealed the filthy state of a McDonald's, showing the fast-food outlet littered with empty packaging and food scraps on the tables, floor, and counters. In a 21-second clip uploaded to TikTok by @zoestiktok, the grim state of the 24-hour restaurant on Boat Harbour Drive in Hervey Bay, Queensland, was exposed. A rogue French fry and sauce was seen beside the McCafe coffee machine, and empty soft drink cups along with takeaway containers were left on tables. Zoe was also taken aback that the outside bin was overflowing with rubbish. 'It's filthy,' she said as she guided her followers through the restaurant. In the caption, she urged the outlet to 'DO BETTER!' 'I cannot believe you are still open and operating in such filth,' she added. 'It's disgusting and the smell was horrid'. After the clip went viral, McDonald's Australia issued a statement to saying: 'We are committed to giving our customers a great experience every time they visit one of our restaurants. 'We follow strict cleaning, sanitisation, and hygiene procedures in all restaurants, including routine dining room cleaning, and provide multiple bins in and around our restaurants, encouraging customers to use these to dispose of their rubbish. 'We are working with the restaurant to ensure we continue to offer a safe and clean environment and a great customer experience.' While Zoe's video amassed over 80,000 views and nearly 300 comments, she didn't receive the support she had hoped for from viewers. Instead of agreeing that the condition of the store was unacceptable, her post sparked backlash from those who accused her of blaming staff rather than customers. 'Why are we just blaming the restaurant? Why aren't the consumers cleaning up after themselves?' asked one. Others labelled her a 'Karen' and told her 'if you think you can do better then go do it'. Meanwhile, former and current fast-food workers argued Zoe's criticism was unfair and overlooked the pressures faced by staff in these roles. 'As a fast food worker, we literally never get time to change bins or clean,' noted one user. 'There is always something else that takes first priority. People don't seem to understand how demanding our managers are,' another added. 'Hey, so McDonald's actually provides bins! And staff do clean the restaurant and toilets when they have time,' chipped in a third. 'It's not fair on us if we are mid-rush and people are complaining about messes other customers have made,' claimed another staff member. Then one person described it as a 'lose-lose' situation for young workers. 'They can't win because they also cop abuse from people for taking too long to make their food,' they said. However, a few supported Zoe's views. 'I'm a customer who will always tidy up after myself, but it's hard if the bins aren't emptied – that's down to staff and management,' one person wrote. Another pointed out that this wasn't an isolated issue: 'Unfortunately, that's always been Hervey Bay Maccas for you, it's never changed'. It comes after YouGov, a market research and data analytics firm, conducted a survey last year showing that 37 per cent of Aussies have witnessed hygiene or safety issues at their local fast food outlets. The findings follow another incident at a Queensland McDonald's last year where a video surfaced online of staff drying a floor mop with heat lamps used for warming French fries. McDonald's Australia responded at the time saying they had conducted thorough sanitisation, hygiene, and food safety retraining for all employees, and that the staff member in the video had been sacked.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
McDonald's 'Karen' unleashes at the fast food chain - but her outburst didn't get the reaction she expected
A McDonald's customer has come under fire after posting a video criticising the state of one of the fast food giant's locations in Queensland. The woman, known only as Zoe, shared footage of the Hervey Bay restaurant to social media in which the floor of the dining area - both inside and outside - was covered in discarded food wrappers, straws and drink lids. She showed the bin overflowing along with spilled food and liquids on the service counter and many of the seats, making finding a place to even sit down hard. There did not appear to be any staff cleaning up the mess in the video. 'DO BETTER! I can NOT believe how you are still open and running a place in such filth,' she captioned the video. But, rather than agreeing the condition of the outlet was unacceptable, Zoe's post sparked a wave of backlash from viewers, with many rushing to defend the staff who work at fast-food business and placing blame on customers instead. 'Why are we just blaming the restaurant? Why aren't the consumers cleaning up after themselves?' one person said. Some labelled the TikToker a 'Karen' with one viewer telling her that 'if you think you can do better then go do it'. Several commenters, who said they were current or former fast-food workers, argued that Zoe's criticism was unfair and failed to acknowledge the realities of the job where workers had to serve customers in a rush. 'As a fast food worker, we literally never get time to change bins or clean,' one person explained. 'There is always something else that takes first priority. People don't seem to comprehend how demanding our managers are.' 'Hey, so McDonald's actually provides bins! And staff do clean the restaurant and toilets, when they have time,' someone else said. 'It's not fair on us if we are mid-rush and have people complaining about a mess that other customers have created.' Some said she was being too harsh on young employees 'who can't win cause they also cop abuse from people for taking too long to make their food'. Other people pointed out the video was filmed during school holiday time, blaming school kids for being messy. However, not everyone disagreed and many offered support for Zoe's message. 'I'm a customer that will always tidy up after myself, but it is difficult to do so if the bins aren't emptied, that comes down to staff and manager responsibility,' one said. 'Unfortunately that's always been Hervey Bay Maccas for you, it's never changed.' another added. 'Yup its getting worse. Almost [every McDonalds], KFC, Hungry Jacks I've been to is just horrendous with dirty tables, toilets, floors.' 'It's disgusting and the smell was horrid' Zoe replied. A YouGov survey conducted last year revealed that more than a third of Australians (37 per cent) have personally witnessed hygiene or safety issues at their local fast-food outlets. The findings came in the wake of a viral incident involving a McDonald's store in Queensland, where staff were filmed drying a mop under the same heat lamps used to keep fries warm. The footage also showed workers standing on food preparation surfaces while wearing work boots.
ABC News
18-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Queensland Health seeks court order to shut tobacco stores for six months
Six businesses alleged by health authorities to be involved in the sale of illicit tobacco can continue trading for the time being despite Queensland Health seeking a court order to shut them down for six months. Queensland Health on Wednesday sought the order in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court after the Wide Bay Public Health Unit and Queensland Police Service carried out raids on six Hervey Bay stores. The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service claimed more than 480,000 illicit cigarettes, 70 kilograms of loose tobacco and 176 vaping devices were retrieved in the most recent raid on Main Street Tobacconist on Tuesday. Queensland Health said it was the first time it had pursued a six-month closure of a business since tougher state laws aimed at eliminating the illegal supply of smoking products took effect in September 2024. The businesses and their owners are not facing criminal charges. The owner of five of the businesses, Mohammed Alfalahi, and Adam Ayser, who owns one store, did not appear in court. Their lawyers requested an adjournment to allow more time to prepare their responses. Mr Alfalahi's lawyer, Dean Mayr, said his client was overseas until next month, which made it difficult for him to obtain instructions. The lawyer for Queensland Health, Peter O'Connor, opposed an adjournment, arguing a risk to public health if the businesses stayed open. Mr O'Connor told the court that the stores would quickly be able to replenish their stocks of illicit tobacco products after the raids. "This is an emergent and urgent community health issue," he said. "It is a matter that needs to be dealt with expeditiously. "These shops in all likelihood … could be opening tomorrow." Magistrate Trinity McGarvie granted an adjournment, noting Mr Alfalahi and Mr Ayser had been notified of legal action by Queensland Health about June 3. "It would be undesirable for … the state, Queensland Health, to be less than diligent … when the applications are such significant ones and such important applications … to be determined in the interest of public health," Ms McGarvie said. The case was adjourned to Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on June 26.
