Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
Hamilton Island was a perfect location to celebrate Christmas. This island is in the Whitsundays, east coast of Australia, about 2.5 hours flight from Melbourne and close to Airlie Beach in Queensland, and offered warm climates, beautiful sunsets and pure relaxation...with a bit of silliness thrown in. Our friends Alan and Kelly, and little 15 month old Adam met us at our apartment on 22nd December and from there, the holidays began! Our apartment was brilliant - two levels, each level with a deck, 3 bedrooms and a huge lounge/kitchen area. Our view was over the marina, the yacht club, looking out towards the golf course on Dent Island. On arrival, we were presented with our golf cart to tootle around the island in, which caused much hilarity, some hitch hiking action, two wheeled corners and the odd crash into a wall/kerb. Everything was within 3 minute golf cart drive @ 20kph - the beach, pools, marina, restaurants, bakery, general store - it was all just so easy and laid back.
Throughout our stay, the weather was 30C on average; our first 2 days were filled with thunderstorms but for the remaining 6 days, the weather was absolutely superb. Not too hot, not too humid, just nice. I think I spent the first 2 days sleeping and reading and then the adventures began. Christmas day was spent opening our Secret Santa presents (cue Santa t-shirt and hat for Bob, and Elf t-shirt and hat for Alan plus a lilo for Kelly and a Super Mario Kart remote control car for moi) Adam got a 'happy hammer' to bash but, not yet being parents ourselves, we forgot the batteries - major FAIL! Ah well, he bashed it anyway.
Off to the beach we went, with Santa and the Elf ho ho ho-ing to everyone we passed in our golf cart, and proceeded to lark around the pool in full costume before they got to hot and had to strip off a layer. The Pacific Ocean was so clear and like stepping into a cosy warm bath. We lazed around the pool with Santa, Elf and the Lilo before heading back to the apartment for our BBQ christmas dinner and an almighty chocolate cake we bought from the bakery.
Boxing day was the day for Kelly, Bob and I to head to the Great Barrier Reef! A 2 hour boat trip to Reefworld before hopping into our stinger suits, grabbing a snorkel and jumping in - I had my underwater camera so tried to take a few snaps of what looked like a giant sea spider (yuk) and beautiful colourful fishes. And of course a few pictures of us looking daft with our snorkel masks on - that goes without saying. I'd never tried scuba diving before, so Bob and I signed ourselves up for the introductory 1 hour scuba dive which was a little scary but also very cool. Bob and I had an instructor holding onto us for the whole way which was good - i think I was practically breaking her hand as I had this image of me letting go of her and my weightbelt and tank would drag me down to the bottom of the ocean!! A little overdramatic perhaps but I wasn't for letting go. There was a slight moment of panic when my mouthpiece started to slip out of my mouth, and after 30 secs of hyperventilation once i'd shoved it back in, I realised I wasn't going to die. Other than that, it was great fun and something I'd like to try again, hopefully in a more relaxed state next time! Back on the boat to have a go down the big slide (kids at heart) before meeting Kelly again. Gorgeous weather and a new experience with the scuba - we went home happy to be greeted by a tired looking Alan who had been looking after mini monster Adam all day! Cue for Kel to take over!
The 27th was fairly relaxed - Bob headed off to play golf on the Hamilton Island golf course in the morning which he loved while Kelly and I decided to treat ourselves to a spa treatment. We were on babysitting duties that evening while Kel and Alan headed out for dinner. Adam didn't even make a noise - we are the best babysitters ever!
Our next outing was on our 1st anniversary - 28th December! Happy Anniversary to us and thank you for all the cards and best wishes. This time all 5 of us hopped on a boat to the famous Whitehaven Beach, 30 mins from Hamilton Island. We had booked the morning trip which meant high tide, which meant not much beach and lots of sea! Bob was a little disappointed as he had been here before when the tide was low and he said it looked quite spectacular. Never mind, we still had fun in the sea - wherever there is a ball, we will invent some games! Back on the boat for a little cruise round the whitsunday islands, just in time for beer o'clock.
That evening, Bob and I headed up to One Tree Hill. This is a spot on the island that opens a bar between 5pm and 8pm for cocktails, while the sun is setting. Very romantic! Our chauffeur for the evening (Alan) took us up there, then picked us up and drove us down the hill to the Yacht Club for our dinner date. The Yacht Club restaurant 'The Bommie' was very posh which we loved - scallops, lobster, chicken and duck were on the menu, alongside some macaroons for coffee time. We had high hopes of living it up and heading to a bar/club on the island (THE bar/club on the island) but come 10.30pm we had called it a night - too much fresh air and sunshine!
The next couple of days we spent by the pool and enjoyed the novelty factor of swimming up to the pool bar for a cocktail. Stay away from the frozen margarhitas! Not nice for $13....the beer however was much nicer. We tried stand up paddle boarding too from which I now have multiple bruises - more so when Bob suggested 'jousting'.......you get the picture.
A fantastic destination and one which I would recommend, especially to my mum and dad - I'll be back there within 5 years I reckon!
Currently I'm trying to escape the 41C heat, not worry about my fractured molar tooth that I managed to get yesterday chewing on a cereal bar and prepare for our detox party we are having tonight - bring a mocktail, bring a healthy dish and bring a game! We have virgin strawberry daiquiris, shirley temples, charades, a mini casino and two of Jamie's 15 minute meals at the ready! Bring on this rock'n'roll party!
Will blog soon, love Mo and Bob xxx
