Whale Bay is the sort of Queensland coastal town that brings to mind hazy, lazy summer days. The kind you remember from childhood holidays, where life revolved around the beach, fish and chips wrapped in paper, and the promise of an ice cream on the way home. It's laid-back, a little old-fashioned, and just a little bit addictive.

Inspired by my many stays in Urangan while my daughter lived there, long walks along the pier, and afternoons writing at The Dock with a generous glass of red, Whale Bay is a blend of two places I love: Urangan, at Hervey Bay, and Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

It has the smalltown feel and beachfront shops of Urangan, the vibrant wharf precinct of Mooloolaba, a lush hinterland dotted with coffee farms, protected mangroves, and a fleet of whale-watching boats that head out each winter in search of the humpbacks.

The rest? That's where imagination takes over.

But if you wander into the little astrology shop near the beach, don't be surprised if Clementine Carter is there with a birth chart in one hand... and a murder to solve in the other.

I hope you love spending time here as much as I do.