There are times when the travel Gods just seem to be smiling on you. As we arrive at Airlie Beach – it feels like it is one of those times. The weather is stunning. Cloudless blue skies and the merest breath of wind. The cab driver is at pains to highlight just how lucky we are. Apparently the weather has been awful for three weeks, nothing but wind and rain. As a consequence, there are boats everywhere.
We are only here for a single evening before catching the ferry to Hamilton Island, the largest island in the Whitsundays. It’s actually a much nicer spot than we’d imagined having only seen it on Below Deck (serving as a place of debauchery for the crew when off duty)!
Next morning, we meet an old friend of mine for a coffee. Sarah and I were friends for years from our early teens – a whole bunch of us used to hang around together, playing a LOT of badminton. By complete coincidence Sarah, her husband Dan and two children, are in Australia at the same time as us. Small world. Crazily enough, they are catching the ferry from Hamilton Island an hour before we are heading in the opposite direction. What are the odds! So, we catch up at the ferry terminal café. A very pleasant surprise!
That said, as a consequence of chatting too long, we fail to store our suitcases on the ferry. As a result, we look like the bag people as we sit down surrounded by our luggage, prompting one hilarious Aussie to ask, ‘hey mate – are you moving over there?’ Very droll!
Hamilton island is pretty tiny at 4.5km from north to south. So, after we are transported to our hotel, with yet another driver stressing how amazing the weather is – we are handed the key to our transport for the next 4 days – a golf buggy. It is by far the most popular mode of transport on the island.
We are staying at the Qualia. Really stunning! Beautiful views over the South Pacific and out to the archipelago.
Once in our room we discover that we are going to have a frequent visitor…
As we get settled, we are pleasantly surprised as a decent sized Sulphur Crested Cockatoo lands on the balcony. It’s pretty unabashed – so cue selfie. I thought initially it might just really like me. 😉 Turns out its just after food – no love there! The one occasion where we forget to close the door, the cheeky bugger flies in and grabs a packet of sugar. No dithering, it knew exactly where to go, and what it was looking for. Subsequently sat eating the pilfered item with a look of great contentment (to the extent that a cockatoo is capable of such an expression).
Following morning we visit White Haven beach via boat. A short hike once we disembark takes us up to a view-point overlooking ridiculously blue waters. We subsequently find ourselves on the gorgeous silica sand beach. It literally squeaks as you walk on it!
A conversation we overhear on the way back to the boat makes us smile. Mother walking ahead of her two children. Looks harassed, but says calmly to her wards, ‘I’ve offered you a solution to the problem, you’ve not taken it, and I don’t know why.’ If I ever write a book about my career in corporates, I might well make that the title!
The following day we take a boat around the island. Interesting trip. Pass by George Harrison’s old holiday home. Poor sod, the house looks horrendous – how he must have suffered. 😉 It’s a great way to get a sense of the island – 60% has to remain undeveloped in accordance with the lease. We’ve discovered that the Aussies love a good lease. It does mean however, that much of the island is unspoilt, wild, and very beautiful.
The evening before we made a spur of the moment decision. The weather is so perfect, that it seems rude not to visit the Great Barrier Reef. We hadn’t planned to, having visited Ningaloo Reef and with a month in the South Pacific ahead of us. However, having seen it from the air when we flew in – we decide to fly back over it. When will we get the chance again?
It turns out to be one of the better decisions we’ve made. It’s great to see the Whitsundays from the air and the ocean is yet again like whale soup.
The water is ridiculously still, with our pilot suggesting that it is the stillest and clearest he has ever seen it. Whether that’s hyperbole or not, it is pretty amazing. Hard to discern where the ocean ends and the sky starts.
The reef when we reach it is amazing. We fly low enough to make out some of the bigger fish and even the odd shark. The colours are difficult to describe, and we feel incredibly lucky to be seeing it!
The snorkelling at the platform is pretty good. Rightly, the reef is well protected and hence tourists only get to snorkel in a relatively modest section of it. Don’t get me wrong, it is pretty cool. But, seeing it from the air gives you a sense of scale. It is 2,300 kilometres long after all!
All too soon it is time to leave Hamilton Island. I hop out on the golf cart in the morning in the hope of capturing a Rainbow Lorikeet. I’m in luck…
When I get back, Jenn is keen that we do the Passage Peak hike. We should have plenty of time to complete the steep walk ahead of our afternoon flight. The view from the top is worth the ascent. Good decision…
On the walk down we are faced with a choice between two paths. Obviously, we choose the wrong one! Cue a 90 minute detour, and argument about whose fault our predicament is. After much well measured debate (that’s code for shouting irrationally at each other) we decide that we will have to agree to disagree. The situation is worsened by the fact that Jenn has inexplicably worn sandals which are now blistering her feet. This is also my fault – obviously! 😉
Our detour means that we are perilously close to missing our flight to Brisbane. As luck would have it, we receive a message to say the flight is delayed. All’s well that ends well – although there is a decidedly frosty atmosphere over lunch given that we have both assigned blame to the other party for our extended ramble!
Having made up, we say a fond farewell to Hamilton Island. What a great place, would very happily have spent more time here – but Noosa beckons.
TAFN.
That beach looks stunning and those views of the barrier reef are amazing the scale of it is beyond how I have thought of it in my head.
That sugar thief knew what he was doing! lol
The colours are so bright and the atmosphere is Christal clear.