Fraser Island (K’gari)’s waters are home to playful neighbours that put on one of the best free shows around: bottlenose dolphins. Two species share these waters — the larger common bottlenose dolphin and the smaller Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin — and both are regularly spotted riding bow waves, playing in the surf, and launching themselves clean out of the water off Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait.
Adult bottlenose dolphins typically grow to 2.2–2.7 metres, with some individuals reaching close to 4 metres. Eating roughly 4–6% of their body weight in fish each day works out to somewhere around 10 kilograms for an average adult — not a bad appetite for an animal that hunts using sonar.
They’re most often seen in small groups, though exactly how many gather at once varies a lot depending on the day, the tide, and what’s biting.
Keep watch from the decks over Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait — see what else is close by to the house in our attractions guide.