Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands was our first destination in Australia. We had four nights to spend here. We flew from Melbourne direct to Hamilton island which took about three hours. Be sure to get a window seat when flying to Hamilton Island as the blue of the sea is stunning on a sunny day.
A little background on the island resort. Hamilton Island was purchased in 1975 by Keith Williams and Bryan Bryt. In 1978, Keith Williams commenced construction of Hamilton Island Harbour and the resort complex shortly after. In 1992, the resort was placed in receivership and became quite run down. Bob Oatley, an Australian winemaker and his family, purchased Hamilton Island in 2003. Sandy Oatley, Bob’s son, is the current chairman of the island. The family bought the island for $200 million and have been investing ever since. There are now many different types of accommodation, ranging from the affordable to the deluxe. The harbour is filled with super yachts, rich and famous own stunning properties across the island, and it’s become an icon of Australian tourism.
We were staying at the Reef View Hotel. We had interconnecting rooms for families on the thirteenth floor. They were huge, with the most amazing view of the bay. We could all have fitted in one room with just an extra bed! As we were waiting for our luggage to arrive, a couple of cockatoo’s visited our balcony. We would see them many times during our stay.
After a quick trip down to the beach and a game of adventure golf we headed to Romano’s for dinner. Romano’s is an Italian restaurant located on the waterside at the marina. We enjoyed a delicious meal with friendly service. The boys had the kids meals which were large and included a drink and ice cream for dessert.
After dinner we headed to the ice cream parlour where the boys sampled yet more ice cream. We’ve spent a long time in Asia with few ice cream treats and now they were making up for it…!
It is best to book your restaurant choices as soon as you arrive on the island, or even before you get there. The restaurants get booked up very quickly.
When staying at the Reef View Hotel you have three options for breakfast. Buffet at the hotel, breakfast at Sails in the main resort centre or breakfast with the koalas at Wildlife Hamilton. We sampled the hotel buffet on our first morning. Afterwards, we headed down to the marina where we were supposed to be taking a trip to Whitehaven Beach. However, the weather forecast was poor and the seas were rough so we postponed for two days later when the forecast was much better. We spent the day at the beach and pool as well as doing some much needed schoolwork. Dinner tonight was a fish and chip takeaway from Popeye’s, again located down at the marina.
The next morning we headed to Wildlife Hamilton for breakfast with the koalas. You eat whilst a couple of koalas hang out in trees located next to the tables. You can pay to have your photo taken with a koala but at 40$ per person this seemed expensive.
From here we hit the beach. I was keen to try paddle boarding and today was the day. There are many free activities on the island; stand-up paddle boarding, snorkelling, and sailing are just a few. We took out some kayaks which the boys paddled and Dave and I tried the stand-up paddle boarding. We still made great progress even though it was breezy and choppy. I loved it – there is something special about being able to stand up and move across water.
Later in the afternoon with the tide out we did some snorkelling off Catseye Beach. Here we had the most amazing turtle experience. We saw a sizeable green turtle which we watched and followed for about thirty minutes, just us and the turtle. It was swimming around eating the seaweed on the sea bottom and occasionally coming up for air. It was a really close encounter for the boys. They could touch the turtle it was that close. It is moments like this that make the trip so special.
Tonight we ate at Manta Ray, again down at the marina, a kids eat free restaurant when staying at the Reef View. Kids, twelve and under, eat free at some restaurants on Hamilton Island, which is handy when you don’t want to blow the budget! We found it to be great value as our three boys all ate free in many places. There is also a bakery where you can buy sandwiches and pies. Plus there’s a small supermarket where you can buy groceries if you want to cater for yourselves.
On our last full day on Hamilton Island we did a trip to Whitehaven Beach aboard ‘On The Edge’, a catamaran sailing boat. It’s a purpose built twenty metre boat and has an enormous thirty metre mast. It can go 20 knots! We boarded the catamaran and we all headed straight to sit in the nets. It was amazing to lie/sit in the nets and watch the water rushing past underneath you. It takes about ninety minutes to get out to Whitehaven Beach.
Whitehaven Beach is beautiful. The sand contains 98% silica which makes it really white. Whitehaven Beach on the Whitsunday Islands has been voted the best beach in Australia and number five in the world. We have now made it our mission to visit the other beaches in the top ten..!
We had two hours on the island, so we swam in the crystal blue sea, all be it in stinger suits (stinger season in Queensland lasts from October to May), and sat on the beautiful white sand. The boys played some cricket with the sports equipment provided by the boat. Dave and I had been to Whitehaven Beach on our previous round the world trip twenty years ago… it was a joy to return.
The cruise is a five hour trip with On The Edge. It cost us $475 AUS for our family of five. Lunch is included. Drinks are available to purchase. We would highly recommend this trip.
The following morning it was time to leave. We caught an early morning boat from the marina to the Port of Airlie Beach where we were hiring a car ready for our trip down the east coast of Australia.
We loved our time on Hamilton Island and could very easily have stayed longer. It is a stunning island resort with so much for kids and adults to do.
WHERE WE STAYED
We spent four nights at the Reef View Hotel, a perfect location for families. We had large interconnecting rooms on the thirteenth floor with stunning views of Catseye Beach and the bay.
