Hamilton Island

Shute Harbour, Queensland, Australia
Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Well here we are in Paradise, or Hamilton Island as it is known. We flew in from Sydney yesterday morning, emerging from the aircraft into brilliant sunshine and a tropical scene.
The Island sits in the middle of the Whitsunday Islands, just off the Queensland coast, and is a really good jumping off point to visit the Great Barrier Reef. It is not a large Island and has been lightly developed ( 30%) as a tourist resort, the vast majority of it being in a wild National Park state. The original project was the brainchild of one Barry Williams, who ran into financial difficulties quite early on and could not complete his vision. The Island was bought by Robert Oatley of 'Wild Oats' sailing fame ( his yacht has just won the Sydney to Hobart race for the sixth year running). He sailed around the Island and bought it lock stock and barrel without further ado having nor even put one foot on dry land. What a decision. He made his fortune in wine and his Island venture can have done him no harm either.
We are staying in an A framed bungalow, which is charmingly decorated and surrounded by tropical planting. There are no cars for rental here, but you can hire a golf buggy to drive yourself around and that we have done today to orientate ourselves and look round the area. There are some beautifully landscaped pools all around and the beach is just gorgeous fringed by Palm trees. Even Peter, who is no fan of a beach, had to admit it was a bit special. There is a large Marina, full of state of the art yachts that could cope with several cases of gin each! Lots of small boutique type shops and a plethora of activities to take part in both on and off the water. Over on nearby Dent Island is a Championship Golf course, designed by Peter Thompson, that a ferry will take you to for your game. It is apparently very fine, but it would have been hot work today. Some of the properties here are simply spectacular. Mostly with a sea view and immaculately kept. This is serious millionaire country if you are wishing to buy. Peter's comment was as follows; 'what would you do after a week? '. Difficult for him to visualise I realise, as one who is permanently on the move and seldom sits anywhere for more than half an hour at a time, unless he is playing bridge or watching sport! We took our little buggy up to One Tree Point, which has a commanding view out over the azure sea, dotted with the Whitsundays. It was a glorious spot and a small white gazebo was being set up for a wedding ceremony this afternoon. I cannot think of a more beautiful venue for the most important moment of your life. The wedding party was small and the reception was held by the pool at the resort centre on the beach this evening. We had supper in an open airy restaurant on the beach tonight, with the waves breaking gently on the shore and white cockatoos flying in and out of the palm trees.
Just magical.Read more