Hamilton Island 88 Days

[Shanel Arrendell]

Itwas music to my ears! Queensland finally opened up their border to allow us to travel for a short holiday to Hamilton Island. We spent a blissful five days luxuriating on Hamilton Island just prior to Christmas and enjoyed every minute of it.

Not being able to travel overseas or to most states within Australia had taken its toll on us. We felt like prisoners in our own town. Constant lockdowns and different Covid rules in different states of Australia made it impossible to plan a holiday. Our only consolation was a couple of short trips in our caravan within our own state.

The astonishing Whitsunday Islands are located off the central coast of Queensland 1,120 kilometres north of Brisbane and 630 kilometres south of Cairns. Airlie Beach is the closest town, with Proserpine and Bowen to the south and north respectively.

The quickest and easiest way to reach Hamilton Island is direct by air with regular flights from most Australian capital cities arriving daily. Hamilton island has its own airport so this is why this place is so popular for those desiring a tropical island escape.

Otherwise you can fly into Proserpine Airport, shuttle to Airlie Beach and catch the ferry to Hamilton island. The ferries take one hour to reach the island and this is a great way to see some of the other beautiful islands that make up The Whitsundays. Alternatively you can drive to Airlie Beach to catch a ferry or private boat charter, or even a helicopter flight to Hamilton Island.

Once you arrive at the island there is a shuttle bus service from the airport to your accommodation. Getting around the island during your stay is also very easy. You can either hire a golf buggy or catch the regular mini-bus that circulates around the island at 10 minute intervals. Otherwise it is very walking-friendly with paved pathways everywhere.

One of the great things about the island is that it is relatively self-sufficient. It has its own airport, an IGA Supermarket, bottle shop, large bakery, take away food outlets, cafes, restaurants, childcare centre, school, police station, medical centre, tavern, Yacht Club, golf course, bowling alley, hairdresser/beauty salon, laundromat, golf buggy hire, marina, chapel, and a post office/bank.

There are a wide variety of options of places to stay on Hamilton Island. These vary from hotels, resorts, villas, holiday apartments, holiday homes to bungalows. Depending on whether it is the low or high season, accommodation is fairly expensive starting from $351 upwards per night.

Our room had two queen-size beds, a small dining table with chairs, two large lounge chairs, plenty of wardrobe and cupboard space, big balcony with outdoor furniture, a large bathroom with separate toilet, vanity, bath and roomy shower.

The location is ideal. We only had to walk a short distance to the beach, shops, swimming pools (we had access to four of them), watercraft hire, cafe, restaurants, Wildlife Park, Day Spa, Medical Centre and walking tracks entrance. Otherwise you can hire a golf buggy for a daily fee, or jump on the shuttle bus that runs between the hotel and the marina, (where the majority of shops and restaurants are located).

Some of the facilities that the Reef View Hotel offers are: tennis courts, fitness centre, sauna, mini golf, Pool Terrace Restaurant and Reef Lounge Bar. A daily buffet breakfast was included in our accommodation and it was always packed with plenty of tasty food options, including a variety of healthy choices.

I think what impressed me the most about Hamilton Island was the lush tropical greenness with beautiful red-flowering Poinciana trees in full bloom for summer. Tall coconut palms fringe the beach and provide some shade for sunbakers. Everywhere there are lovely tropical gardens that are well maintained by the staff.

The majority of the island is covered in native vegetation, and the coast is fringed by remarkable coral reefs. Walking tours offer up-close sightings of koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and kookaburras. The trails that lead up to Passage Peak on the eastern side of the island, afford sensational views of the surrounding islands.

Kathy was a 50 something year old when she started up this blog 6 years ago, but has since turned over another decade and is now in her early 60s. She is married with two adult children and lives on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kathy enjoys living life to the fullest and loves to keep fit and active by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Some of her interests include reading, photography, travelling, cooking and blogging! Kathy works part-time as a freelance writer but her real passion is travelling and photographing brilliant destinations both within Australia and overseas and writing about it.

The large sandy inlet here is what you will see on Whitsundays postcards and the view in person is on another level. We could see a couple of helicopters that had landed on the otherwise deserted beach below.

I am so grateful that we started with the helicopter ride as the views of the reef from the boat are limited and you miss out on all the best stuff. You can see across the reef but nothing stands out.

As we got closer to the peak it did also get quite steep but these sections had steps. My favorite part of the hike (apart from the summit) was when you first got a look over the opposite side of the ridge at the islands on the other side.

Once we reached the peak we were greeted with 270-degree views that stretched from Catseye Beach in one direction, past Whitsunday Island, and all the way back down the Hamilton Island coastline to the south. The best part was that we had the lookout all to ourselves!

The reef just off Catseye Beach was visible from our hotel room and we had not yet had the time to get out into the water. After a quick lunch, we hired some snorkel gear and headed into the water in search of some turtles!

The only hazard was the netting that we were sitting on being just large enough for a dropped phone to slip through. So we held on to our devices tightly the whole time and managed to get some amazing photos.

When you reach the top of the hill the view opens right up on the right-hand side of the road looking back over Catseye Beach. I took this in for a few minutes and figured that I had come this far so I may as well keep going.

I walked around a bend in the road and found where the hill descends down the western side of the hill. Here there was a bar with a great view to the north and a grassy hill next to it where lots of people had taken their drinks to hang on the side of the hill to watch the sunset.

The Irukandji jellyfish is very small and can occasionally drift in towards the various beaches. While stings are rare they can be severe in their effects on an individual, and in extreme cases can be fatal.

Cruise on your Hamilton Island Freestyle tour through the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. Arriving at picturesque Hamilton Island, disembark at the marina and begin your own exploration of this popular Whitsunday Island resort. There are so many fun things to do on Hamilton Island that you can incorporate into your day!

Jump on one of the many shuttle buses around the island and see some of the most beautiful scenic lookouts like One Tree Hill, wander around the marina village with its boutique shops and galleries or stroll to one of the lagoon shaped swimming pools or Catseye beach for a refreshing swim in the sun. If you prefer being a bit more active why not try some of the many water-sports on offer, such as paddle-boarding or jet-skiing.

For animal lovers, don't miss the chance to get up close with the cute and cuddly resident koalas at the Wildlife sanctuary, and meet and learn about some of Australia's other natives including kangaroos, snakes and even a giant crocodile! Also equipped with its own Kegel 9 Pin Bowling Alley, 18 hole golf course and a fast 9 turn Go-Kart racing track, you won't have to worry about running out of things to do on this island!

Infants 0-3 years travel free of charge, however no infant meals are included. Guests must be able to show valid ID at check in to support their ticket type (i.e Senior or Child ticket). If you cannot produce the valid identification to meet your ticket requirements, you will not be able to travel without paying a surcharge/difference in fare.

You must reconfirm all booked tours prior to travel as specified on your voucher. If applicable, notes such as dietary requirements, pick-up locations and additional fees should also be confirmed at this time. Reconfirmations cannot be actioned through Sailing Whitsundays/Mr Travel, and must be done so directly through the Service Operator as specified on each ticket.

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It is the responsibility of all passengers travelling to advise both your travel agent at the time of booking and vessel check-in agent before boarding of any medical conditions including food allergies you may suffer from.

The Service Operator reserves the right to alter prices and extra costs. Extra costs may include EMC fees, Stingersuit/Wetsuit Hire, Luggage Storage, Insurance, Linen Hire, National Park Fees, Fuel Levies, Dietary Fees, etc. Bonds may also apply.

We will also endeavour to communicate these extra costs with you at the time of booking, and on your ticket. However, it is your responsibility to confirm which (if any) additional costs apply with each Service Operator upon reconfirming your trip.

It should be noted that adventure travel involves risk. Whilst we make every effort to safeguard clients, we cannot be responsible for personal injury or loss due to the actions of our clients which are beyond our control. We highly recommend that all clients have travel insurance covering illness, injury, loss or damage to personal belongings and not being able to travel on the confirmed date of departure. You should also ensure your travel insurance will cover special circumstances including weather events preventing guests from travelling to their tour departure destination and cancelled flights due to unforeseen circumstances.

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