Lynne's Travels : Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands - off the coast of Northern Queensland, approximately 550 miles north of Brisbane and 318 miles south of Cairns. The Whitsundays were formed when sea levels rose thousands of years ago, drowning numerous mountains that were situated close to the coast; these are now visible out of the Coral Sea with their distinctive shapes covered in thick vegetation. Hamilton has its own airport and is served by several ferries, which can only carry passengers, mainland vehicles are not allowed on the island except for those of tradespeople and public transport.

Hamilton Island was purchased in 1975 when construction of a harbour began, followed by resorts in various stages, but a fire destroyed some of the complex in 1985. It was placed in receivership in 1995 and in 2003, Bob Oatley, an Australian winemaker purchased the island; and since then it has won many awards including the Australian Traveller 'Most Desirable Island Escape' Award. If you haven’t booked to stay on the island you can visit it in several different ways; Cruise Whitsundays offer a Hamilton Family Day, Hamilton Adrenalin, Hamilton with Whitehaven Beach as part of a 2-island tour; or Hamilton Freestyle.

This last one was the one I opted for as I had been told that half a day wasn’t long enough to enjoy Hamilton - and this tour gave me a whole 8 hours to explore. There is another tour that sounded like my sort of thing - Hamilton’s Nature Escape where you hike up to Passage Peak and have breakfast with the koalas – but that was booked up. The early morning journey from the Port of Airlie only takes about 30 minutes and once you arrive at the picturesque marina – the day is yours.

There is so much to see and do on Hamilton Island and I was keen to explore it my own pace, so I had reserved myself a golf buggy before I arrived – perfect for a self-guided tour. There is a public shuttle bus that operates on the island serving major points of interest, but I fancied something different.

I am not a golfer and had never driven anything like this before. From the Marina it was just a short walk up the hill to the buggy hiring depot. The pickup was very efficiently done, and the price very reasonable – only $70 for 4 hours. After a quick briefing – I was ready to go (I was so delighted that I could reach the pedals). They are electric powered, and I was assured that unless I drove constantly for the entire 4 hours – I wouldn’t run out of power.

There is a speed limiter on the buggies, so that when you drive through any of the built-up areas you cannot go above 20 kmph. https://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/reserve-your-buggy Heading off down the road was only nerve wracking for one minute – it didn’t take long to get the hang of it. I passed through the main resort part of the island, with quality accommodation, hotels, chalets, lodges and apartments; a reception area with bars and activities for the guests, and several outdoor swimming complexes. Once on the island I was free to use any of these facilities – but I wanted to make the most of my transport and see as much as possible within the 4 hours first. I drove to the very end of Resort Drive – luckily it is a straight road – admiring the beautiful pools, wallabies on the lawns and the view of the ocean.

I parked up at the end of the road, practised reversing and took some photographs of the picturesque Catseye Beach, and to have a look at the various walking trails.

https://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/nature-and-wildlife/bushwalking Confident now, I headed back through the resort and out towards Palm Valley where there are Quad Bikes and Off Road Adventueres. Hamilton’s golf driving range is out here – and is definitely something quite different - the golf balls have to be hit into a lake! That must be why it is called Aquatic Golf!

Hamilton Island’s 18-hole Golf course is on the nearby Dent Island and is accessed by a boat transfer. The airport is along the road this way too, the quaintest little terminal sitting by the edge of the calm ocean.

Over the hill, with more great views of the marina and back into the hub of things – oh I was enjoying myself!

There is a Wildlife Park that has shows with reptiles, birds, dingoes and koalas at varying times throughout the day. If you are staying on the island, you can pay once and then have unlimited entry into this park – that is good value.

I had been told that One Tree Hill Lookout was a wonderful place to go for fantastic panoramic views of the Whitsunday Passage and the islands in the distance (that once were rainforest mountains). It was only a few minutes’ drive from the centre – nowhere is very far away on Hamilton.

One Tree Hill is somewhere you just have to go – the views really are magnificent. It is also renowned for its rather special café which does a great coffee or a refreshing cocktail (alcoholic or not) – it is definitely one for the bucket list. I was very happy to spend some time sitting on the balcony with a lovely fruit punch.

From here you can, not only see out towards the other islands, but you can get a feel for the rest of Hamilton and catch up with some of its resident wildlife – its friendly wallabies and cockatoos.

There was always somewhere to park the buggy, you just had to remember what your number was – as they all looked the same!

The next little roads – on the farthest end of the island, were where the classier holiday homes/villas were; with street names like Melaleuca Drive and Whitsunday Boulevard.

After travelling around these, I came to the far end of the Marina – and was now on Front Street. This is the hub of the island, where you can hire jet skis, try sea-kayaking, book fishing tours, catamaran trips, and numerous other activities; you will also find marine supplies, and various other types of quality retail outlets. I discovered the most unusual shop/shack called Foot’s Artworks; I had seen something similar in Airlie Beach and was told that it was all work by one man who has only these 2 shops.

Australian artist, Foot Young, is based at Hamilton Island and sculptures the most beautiful creatures in marble, he has hundreds of original different works, ranging from a selection of small pieces to enormous outdoor works.

I was in awe of everything I saw and just had to take a small one home with me – even though I would have loved a 3-foot-high seal or dolphin! Close to here is the Island Bowling – an ideal place to spend as hour if the weather isn’t very good; and the weather wasn’t at its best the day I was there. I had been dodging a cyclone for the past few days and its remnants were catching up with me. But being in the golf buggy, I was able to stay dry for some of the time.

As part of the day-package tour, lunch was included (either at Marina Tavern or at Manta Ray Café) - I had chosen lunch at the Marina Tavern which was very well organised, there was a good selection and it was very tasty. A friendly cockatoo thought he would join me – he likes the chips there too!

The Marina Tavern has a beautiful outlook over Hamilton Marina, there is plenty of buggy parking over the road and is very close to the main shopping area. After lunch it was time to take the golf buggy back; I thought 4 hours would have been enough but wish I had had it for longer - especially with the weather becoming so miserable in the afternoon.

So, I walked back to the Village Main Street and spent some time browsing in the touristy boutique shops and a found lovely art gallery that even gives art lessons. A delightful area to stroll around – if it hadn’t been so wet. Hamilton Island has so many other activities that I haven’t even mentioned; as well as water based fun and getting close to wildlife; there is mini-golf, go-karting, 2 spas, or you could just relax beside any of the many pools or try paddle boarding on Catseye Beach.

There are plenty of opportunities to try so many different activities when visiting Hamilton Island, but make sure you enquire beforehand as you may need to book them before you arrive – as they do get booked up very early. On a positive note, no matter what the weather, there is always something to do, there are plenty of public toilets and great filtered water stations.