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Published: June 26th 2015
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View from the Seaplane
Beautiful turquoise water and a rainbow as we come in for a landing No one was happy at the 5:45 wake-up call, but there is only one daily non-stop to the Whitsunday islands and we didn’t want to miss the plane. Heavy rain started to fall in Cairns just as we were ready to board the turbo-prop, and we struggled to avoid getting soaked as we crossed the tarmac. We arrived at Hamilton Island just after 9am and then boarded a small seaplane for our short trip to Hayman Island. Views (and photos) were fantastic from our cruising altitude of 1000 feet and the skies were pleasantly sunny after our rainy morning in Cairns. The plane did in fact land on the water and then taxi onto shore on Hayman. Andrew noted that the sea-plane can travel on land, sea and air! We were pleased that our rooms were ready despite our early morning arrival and after exploring a bit, we headed to a poolside restaurant to get some lunch. After lunch we set out to explore the vast resort . The pool on our side of the resort is kid-friendly, warm and very pretty, with shallow parts that contain clean sand for play and an infinity-pool that faces great views of the beach.
We walked through a small rainforest garden that is filled with butterflies (all the same species, but still very special and lovely) and then across to the other wing that has the massive saltwater pool. The saltwater pool is an expansive doughnut shape circumnavigating the “pool wing” and allowing people to swim right up to private decks that lead into their rooms. It is built on the same model as the pool at the Sea Temple resort, but is much bigger. This pool is so large that there is a reasonably large pool inside the center island, with long boardwalks extending back across towards the hotel, and a serious swimmer could get great exercise by swimming laps around the donut. After exploring the pools, we went out for a walk on the beach; at low tide the shallow sandy beach extends for hundreds of yards, exposing crabs, snails and bits of coral. Beyond the beach, the water is a brilliant turquoise and the shallow pools of water on the beach shimmer with ripples from the wind. Andrew (highly skilled in the art of persuasion) coaxed Sonia out for a swim in the (cold) saltwater pool. Following their new tradition, they
Andrew Disembarking
Seaplane ride was quite smooth and landing on water was pretty cool. explored every corner of the pool, and were quite chilly by the time they were done. John followed with a plan to take photos but ultimately succumbed to the temptation to join them for a swim. After showers, John went out to enjoy the lovely balcony and soon found himself joined by one, then another and then another of the large white cockatoos which inhabit the area in great (and quite loud) abundance. We got into the resort lifestyle with cocktails at the pool in the late afternoon (Lauren requested something that could be served in a coconut) before John and Sonia headed out on a quick hike up the hill to a lookout point for a spectacular sunset. Our dinner reservation had all been made in advance and put us at the “fancy” restaurant called “Fire” for our first night and we all put effort into rallying for our 8pm dinner after a long and busy day.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
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