Just returned to Melbourne today after spending six nights at Hamilton Island. An island which is 4.5. km long and 3 km wide covering 750 hectares and boasts an airport capable of landing Boeing 767's.
After almost 7 days of sheer relaxation and enjoyment on this incredible island, I am left with an overwhelming sense of awe at the facilities and infrastructure that are present on this incredible island in the middle of the Whitsunday group.
As you can see from our holiday snap taken at the beautiful "Whitehaven Beach", the foot growing out of Kylie's head grew very well in the warm sunny weather - We managed to find a hat to cover it up for the flight home though.
Anyhow, back to hamilton Island itself ... this is not just some little island with a holiday resort - this is a self-contained community/small town with a population larger than the mainland town of Proserpine.
This island is an incredible example of what can be achieved with inspired vision.
Quite simply, this island is truly amazing and will serve as a constant example for me of great vision achieved.
Just think for a minute about the logistics of carrying all the building supplies necessary to build an airport, a twin tower 19 storey hotel, villas, bures, private residences, an apartment tower and a resort compound from the mainland to the island on barges.
Think about the infrastructure and utilities that needed to be established for the island to become what it is today - roads, footpaths, power generation facilities, water, telephone, sewerage, garbage disposal .
And much to my delight, my Three Netconnect card worked perfectly (albeit on Roam GPRS mode) on the island.
To quote http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/QLDHamiltonIsland.shtml
Hamilton Island
Most commercially developed of all the Whitsunday Islands
Geologically the Whitsunday Islands are all drowned
mountains. Prior to the last Ice Age they were connected to the
mainland and would have all been prominent mountains in the area. The
melting of the polar caps drowned the valleys between the mountains
creating a network of 74 islands of which only 7 have resort
facilities. (Hamilton, Daydream, Lindeman, Hayman, South Molle and two thers) Beyond the resorts the whole area is part of the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park and the uninhabited islands are all controlled
by National Parks and Wildlife.
The first European to explore the area was Captain James Cook who travelled through the area on his journey up the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. He passed through Whitsunday passage, a narrow channel which lies between the mainland coast, South Molle and Daydream Islands to the west and Dent, Whitsunday, Hook and Hayman Islands to the east, on Sunday 4 June which happened to be Whit Sunday (the seventh Sunday after easter) - hence the name of the area.
Recognised as one of the most luxurious resort destinations on the Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island is a very good example of how the Great Barrier Reef can commercially match any tropical paradise in the world. There are hotel suites, luxury apartments, private villas, self-contained suites and bures with eating available at everything from an a la carte restaurant to a coffee shop, seafood restaurant, pizza parlour, snack bar and cocktail bar.
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The Hamilton Island marina |
The activities range from snorkelling to reef fishing, sailboard riding, tennis, squash, walking trails and the Hamilton Island Fauna Park with koalas, kangaroos, emus, wombats and a variety of birdlife. There is also a church (people can get married on the island), a museum which boasts the world's largest private collection of motorcycles, and still over 80 per cent of the island remains in its natural state apart from walking trails to such delightfully out of the way destinations as Coral Cove, Passage Peak and Escape Beach.
It is a comment on the current status of Hamilton Island (and the level of development which has occurred) that while it is not the largest island in the group it is the only island to have an airport capable of handling wide bodied jet aircraft.
Location
Within the Whitsunday group half way between Mackay and Townsville. 1,528km north of Sydney (2 hours 10 min by jet) and 45 minutes by water taxi from Shute Harbour
Description of the island
A substantial island which is 4.5. km long and 3 km
wide. It covers 750 hectares much of which is still untouched.
How do visitors access it?
Jetstar flies direct to Hamilton Island daily with
services from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. Fantasea Blue
Ferries also have six daily departures from Shute Harbour.
Activities on the island
There are over 40 different activities to enjoy on
Hamilton Island including bushwalking, go karts, mini golf and snorkelling. There is also a target sports facility which has pistol shooting (Glock, Berretta, Smith and Wesson) as well as clay target shooting.
History
Hamilton Island Resort was the brainchild (vision) of Queensland developer Keith Williams who created a multi-use island with everything from private dwellings (George Harrison lived in one of them on a 5 acre compound) through to a diverse range of hotels. By the end of 1998 a refurbishment program costing $40 million has been completed. The island centrepiece is the main Reef View Hotel which is 19 storeys high and boasts the highest external lift in Australia.
How big is it?
Beach Club Resort, 55 beachfront rooms; Reef View Hotel,
386 rooms and suites; Whitsunday Holiday Apartments, 166 one bedroom
apartments, 20 two bedroom apartments; Palm Bungalows, 50 free standing
bungalows, Palm Terrace, 60 rooms; Self Catering Villas, 29 ranging
from 2-4 bedrooms.
