Last week we returned from a holiday in the Whitsundays. They are a collection of islands (74 of them) off the northeast coast of Australia. They are very near the Great Barrier Reef and have a tropical climate – so they are a popular vacation destination. They were apparently discovered by Captain Cook on Whit Sunday (whatever that is) and that is how they got their name.
We arrived on Hamilton Island first. The whole island is apparently owned by one family – which is crazy. They have set up a whole resort community. There are no cars – just golf carts.
We went on a dinner cruise our first night and met a couple on their honeymoon from Canberra. He was an air traffic controller, so he and I got along well talking about planes.
The next day we went to Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island. The whole thing is a protected park, so there are zero facilities. The sand is 98% pure silica – and is very very soft. Unfortunately, it rained for about half the time we were on the beach (the only time it rained on the whole holiday). Kind of lame – but it was still fun.
On day three we ventured out the Barrier Reef – apparently named because Captain Cook couldn’t figure out how to get over/around it. The company that took us out has a permanent pontoon out in the middle of nowhere on the edge of the reef that includes a hotel, daycare, change rooms, sun deck, water slide, underwater viewing chamber, and more. Its called ReefWorld.
The waters there have “stingers” (jellyfish) this time of year – so we all snorkeled while wearing stinger suits, which were not in any way flattering. We never saw any stingers. A highlight was the “semi-submersible submarine”, which is clever name for a boat with a glass bottom.
On day four, we left Hamilton Island and travelled to our next destination – Hayman Island.
Hayman was amazing. There was no place to go on Hayman; there is just the one resort. And that was the best part. We just relaxed for a few days.
The pool was impressive. They claim its the largest in the southern hemisphere – but the auditor in me wonders how you might validate such a claim. In any case, the pool is apparently 7 times larger than an olympic pool.
One of our favorite parts of the island was the outdoor shower in (or out, I guess) of our room.
One morning there were dozens of rays (sting rays and others) that came up to a cove on the island. We aren’t sure why – perhaps something to do with breeding?
The highlight of Hayman were the 2-person catamarans available for use. The morning we decided to try our hand at sailing happened to be the windiest day of our trip. It was actually quite gusty. The sailing instructor told us in our introduction that it was “the most dangerous day you could possibly do this.” It sounded like an exaggeration to me (though he did mention something about capsizing). But I’m glad we ignored his warnings and took a shot at it. Once I got the hang of it I realized that sailing is something of a puzzle – and I love puzzles. And we both love boats. We had a blast.
This was our favorite holiday yet. We included a few pics here on the blog, but we have compiled the highlights into a web album liked below if you want to see more.
Link to web album with more pics
Amanda, our chef:
Sitting down to our Thanksgiving feast. From left to right: Nancy, Mark (Nancy’s son), Anthony, Me, and Silas
Here’s a few more pictures from the evening:
Caitie had the most adorable “first” Thanksgiving outfit :)
