Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island is in the Whitsunday island group at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef and we've just spent a lovely week there with Kath and Dave. The place certainly did not disappoint.

Room with a view

Spectacular views of the beach and across the channel to Whitsunday Island greeted us from our hotel balconies and I had Osprey and Brahminy Kite fishing in the bay after only 10 minutes!

Time was spent fishing (Emily hooked a massive shark at one point but perhaps luckily it broke off after a while), snorkeling, drinking cocktails, and I even learned how to sail a little catamaran.

Learning to sail

The birdlife wasn't spectacular but the island is running with Bush Stone-curlews which is a delight. We also had wallabies and possums descending from the surrounding bush in the evenings to take advantage of the pristine lawns and, no doubt, fruity trees.

Bush Stone-curlew in it's natural environment

Bush Stone-curlew in the pub

Although we saw several turtles in the water from our balcony, I didn't manage to encounter any while swimming off the beach. Saying that, the sandy bottom meant poor visibility and it was pretty difficult to see anything out there.

Tall-fin Batfish

Long-finned Cod

Beaked Coralfish

Sea Cucumber

For clearer waters and all the fish you can point a camera at, you need to take a trip out to the Barrier Reef...