ALL THAT GLISTERS IS NOT GOLD
All that glisters is not (necessarily) gold. Don't get me wrong, after the delights of
Port Douglas and hearing people's comments, we were really looking forward to our short stay at Hamilton Island. I can't remember the last time I flew on a prop plane, but the hour long hop across the azure waters went without a hitch (we even got free food) and were quickly escorted to the Reef View Hotel. The view from our room on the 6th floor was amazing (see picture 1), but until our day of departure that was as good as it got.
Our hotel had 19 floors, not the sort of place we usually stay. It was a bit of a concrete monstrosity. There was a balcony, but we couldn't sit out there because the cockerels invaded us every time we opened the door, looking for food. People next door to us fed the birds chocolate even though there are signs saying not to - it seems they have a sugar habit - but this makes them lose their feathers (see pictures 2 and 3 left and right below) and they look really sad.
We looked at possible tours. After the Barrier Reef, we were still enthused with snorkelling and there was a trip to Chalkie's Beach where we could walk into the sea and swim amongst the coral reef. However, you also had to go to W
hitehaven Beach, which was a beach of, supposedly, undisturbed white sand (with over 100 people on it?), which had no place to sit (not good for old folks with limited flexibility in our knees) and no shelter from the sun. There was no way to go to Chalkies without going to Whitehaven. So we didn't go.
Hamilton Island had a golf course on Dent Island that we thought we might play, requiring a ferry to get there. It was expensive and we were advised not to play as there were high winds and snakes in the rough. In the end, we took the ferry and went for the 2 course lunch package, which cost $75 per person (plus the cost of drinks) and included a tour of the course in golf buggies. This was enjoyable, but it cemented our view that this was not a golf course for us (see pictures 4 and 5). Even a lady pro on our lunch package who had played in a competition earlier in the year admitted it had taken her 5 days to get to grips with the course.
Hamilton Island had some fine restaurants, but you either had to book days in advance, they were closed when we wanted to go or were very expensive - or a combination of all three. We didn't starve but were disappointed in what was available. Imagine Disneyland including the children but all water sports instead of rides.
On the last morning we had our best experience on Hamilton Island. We had noticed earlyish in the morning people walked out a long way at low tide. We decided to join them. So, armed with our prescription masks and wearing our swim shoes and tee shirts to protect from the sun, we too walked out. It was very shallow and we went a long way out just for the sea water to rise above our waists. Then, the sandy sea bottom turned dark and we realised we were out with the coral. We put our masks on, heads under the water and were immediately transported to our wonder world of coral and small fish swimming around us.
Hamilton Island had one more sting in the tail and that was when we came to leave. The redistribution of our luggage meant that we were slightly over the 23 kg allowance. However, I had received notification from QANTAS that our allowance was raised to 30 kg. When we went through boarding, though, the girl on the check-in desk insisted that we only had 23 kg. Unfortunately, I could not find the QANTAS message on the app and so with a frantic bit of taking luggage from our suitcases and putting it in our backpacks, we made the limit.
You might think that we didn't enjoy Hamilton Island, we did. The swimming pool in our hotel was excellent and some people we met gave us 2 glasses of Pinot Gris on the day they were leaving. Our huge room was a delight and we used the free bus between the hotel and the marina extensively. We decided that we were just not resort people as we took the flight to Brisbane.
All that glisters is not (necessarily) gold. Don't get me wrong, after the delights of
Port Douglas and hearing people's comments, we were really looking forward to our short stay at Hamilton Island. I can't remember the last time I flew on a prop plane, but the hour long hop across the azure waters went without a hitch (we even got free food) and were quickly escorted to the Reef View Hotel. The view from our room on the 6th floor was amazing (see picture 1), but until our day of departure that was as good as it got.Our hotel had 19 floors, not the sort of place we usually stay. It was a bit of a concrete monstrosity. There was a balcony, but we couldn't sit out there because the cockerels invaded us every time we opened the door, looking for food. People next door to us fed the birds chocolate even though there are signs saying not to - it seems they have a sugar habit - but this makes them lose their feathers (see pictures 2 and 3 left and right below) and they look really sad.
hitehaven Beach, which was a beach of, supposedly, undisturbed white sand (with over 100 people on it?), which had no place to sit (not good for old folks with limited flexibility in our knees) and no shelter from the sun. There was no way to go to Chalkies without going to Whitehaven. So we didn't go.
Hamilton Island had a golf course on Dent Island that we thought we might play, requiring a ferry to get there. It was expensive and we were advised not to play as there were high winds and snakes in the rough. In the end, we took the ferry and went for the 2 course lunch package, which cost $75 per person (plus the cost of drinks) and included a tour of the course in golf buggies. This was enjoyable, but it cemented our view that this was not a golf course for us (see pictures 4 and 5). Even a lady pro on our lunch package who had played in a competition earlier in the year admitted it had taken her 5 days to get to grips with the course. Hamilton Island had some fine restaurants, but you either had to book days in advance, they were closed when we wanted to go or were very expensive - or a combination of all three. We didn't starve but were disappointed in what was available. Imagine Disneyland including the children but all water sports instead of rides.
On the last morning we had our best experience on Hamilton Island. We had noticed earlyish in the morning people walked out a long way at low tide. We decided to join them. So, armed with our prescription masks and wearing our swim shoes and tee shirts to protect from the sun, we too walked out. It was very shallow and we went a long way out just for the sea water to rise above our waists. Then, the sandy sea bottom turned dark and we realised we were out with the coral. We put our masks on, heads under the water and were immediately transported to our wonder world of coral and small fish swimming around us.
Hamilton Island had one more sting in the tail and that was when we came to leave. The redistribution of our luggage meant that we were slightly over the 23 kg allowance. However, I had received notification from QANTAS that our allowance was raised to 30 kg. When we went through boarding, though, the girl on the check-in desk insisted that we only had 23 kg. Unfortunately, I could not find the QANTAS message on the app and so with a frantic bit of taking luggage from our suitcases and putting it in our backpacks, we made the limit.
You might think that we didn't enjoy Hamilton Island, we did. The swimming pool in our hotel was excellent and some people we met gave us 2 glasses of Pinot Gris on the day they were leaving. Our huge room was a delight and we used the free bus between the hotel and the marina extensively. We decided that we were just not resort people as we took the flight to Brisbane.
You are awesome people not resort people. 🙂
ReplyDelete