The Tide is High (Hamilton Island)

Day one ended with a beautiful 5 course degustation dinner, with matching wines, at the Beach Club restaurant. The Malaysian curry and the beef were the standout dishes. The surprise of the night was a locally made limoncello, based on vodka. Extra smooth and seductive, it's the sort of thing you could sip all night. Although you might find it difficult walking back to your room.

Looking back at the resort from a sodden beach

Looking east

The intermittent rain continued through the night, varying from torrential to drizzle. At times it drowned out the sound of the waves. The morning dawned to reveal the same sort of day as yesterday. Rain showers of varying intensity interspersed by sunshine. It hasn't deterred people from getting out and about but I'm watching the next wave of rain quietly displacing the sun and it will have a significant impact. Looks like the early part of the day will be spent blogging and reading. 

Although we didn't get active until 7:30 the birds made their presence felt at sunrise. We have plantation shutters that allow the breeze to come into the room as well as the rhythmic lull of the waves. Bird song can not be excluded. It wasn't quite musical but it didn't force me out of bed either.

We opted to breakfast in our room. It arrived right on time and was much larger than either of us anticipated. Pastries, fresh fruit, yoghurt, granola, toast and of course, eggs for Jayne. The rain was back and we sat around being lulled by the waves crashing on the shore. There were plenty of people about on boards and kayaks. The rain eased and we decided to explore Catseye Beach. We had walked maybe 20 metres when the rain forced us to abort and seek shelter by the infinity pool.

Not a bad place to shelter from the rain

The next attempt was much more successful and we walked to the eastern end of the beach. The tide was high, hence today's title, aclassic from Blondie.  Then back to the western end where the Resort Centre and three million children are located. There are a number of shops, food outlets and a tour booking service. Most of the tours require good weather, it would appear from the weather forecast that we will be ducking in and out of the rain all week, so we probably won't be heading out to the reef or sailing at sunset.

The Resort Centre was overrun with children. It was like walking through a primary school playground. It made me shudder. Time to seek the solace of our unit and plan the next activity.

Fun fact: No swimming pool on Hamilton Island is fenced, nor are they supervised. In a curious nod to the past, parents are expected to supervise their own children closely. Who'd have thought? It would be an interesting exercise to compare the drowning statistics against an area where pools are supposed to be fenced. I have long believed that pool fences encourage a false sense of security and even an abrogation of responsibility.

Looking west

With a break in the weather we decided it was time to chance our luck and walk to the marina for lunch. Fish and chips from Popeye's we were seeking but were almost side tracked by the options at Manta Ray. Had they offered simple fish and chips they would have won because they were licensed. Under arcane licensing laws alcohol can only be served with meals on Good Friday and Popeye's is just a take-away. Bravely resisting the temptation of the demon drink we walked on. The fish and chips were well cooked, simple and cheap. Fresh reef fish, yum.

It would be spectacular in the sunshine.

Back at the resort we realised that there would be no lunch time cocktail. The bottle shop was closed. Thankfully the law didn't extend to emptying our bar fridge. We have ample supplies of champagne and wine to make it through until tomorrow.

The afternoon cleared to blue skies with the very occasional light showers as the tide receded. The tides are huge and even with 3 hours to go before low tide you are able to walk a long way across the sand flats. Afternoon exercise completed, 10K steps achieved, it was champagne time. We whiled away the hours fending off birds who wanted to share our food and watching a young wallaby tucking into the fresh green grass that separates us from the waterfront. It's a tough life.

Until tomorrow.

I'm on an Island (Hamilton Island)

Today's title is a retrospective nod to that great British band the Kinks. Do some research you millennials, they were excellent.

It seems such long time since the Cook Islands my dear reader, although it was only three months ago. This feeling has no doubt been exacerbated by work. The changes have been as difficult to deal with as the right wing of the federal Liberal Party, and as much fun. Although I have landed in a good place with good people. However, following the removal of the king I contemplated moving my life to Syria, as that at least would provide some comparative stability, but no my astute reader, that is not where I am heading. A short break in Hamilton Island should restore my wellness index.

Thank you internet for this image

Despite having travelled to many islands off the coast of Queensland, Hamilton, until now has eluded us. Too many friends have suggested we should put it on our travel itinerary and so we have. All the essentials are packed, our bags have been checked, I was tested for explosives and failed. Now that test is one from which you don't want a positive result. And now I sit people watching in the Qantas Lounge, nursing my carry-on bag which contains not one, not three, but five bottles of 2008 vintage Drappier champagne. Excessive you say. No, I respectfully disagree. I had intended on taking only three bottles but was advised to take one bottle for each day. Sound advice from a seasoned traveller. Who was I to disagree?

There is the usual eclectic crowd wandering the lounge. Suits, jeans, tattooed middle aged women, running shoes, the occasional person clothed as if they dressed after an explosion at Vinnies, (think '70s maths teachers), but NO thongs - this is Qantas. There is also at least one screaming child, who, no doubt, will be seated behind me on the plane. Thankfully our accommodation at the Beach Club is adults only. We have done our time in family friendly places, and anyway, we are no longer friendly.

I have seen many unusual sights in airport lounges and today contributes another. A man has just arrived in shorts and T-shirt with a camera on a very large tripod. He set the camera up and is taking shots of the food station. Interesting.

Alas, the screaming child has departed the lounge and will not be seated near me on the plane. Despair not my sensitive reader, another screaming child has replaced the previous one. And so it goes. The plane was dominated by children, who thankfully, were well behaved and subdued once we gained altitude.

In another example of first world problems, the snack on the plane was a choice of quiche or corn frittata. Really? Way too much egg action for my taste buds. I believe every egg should have the right to become a chicken.

The view from the verandah

First impressions of the island are favourable. The Beach Club looks great, we were welcomed with a glass of champagne - clearly they identified my weakness. We are on the ground floor with direct access to Catseye Beach, although initially the rain kept us in our unit.

The rain soon disappeared and the sun returned so we ventured down to the lounge for a cocktail and food. Jayne had a French Colada and I had the Spritz to go with some delectable squid and rosemary salt chips. Very nice. The sun also lured people to return to the infinity pool. It's heated so it's swimmable no matter what time of year you visit.

Then it was time to explore our end of the island. The walk to the Marina and the hub of activity was less than a kilometre, although there was a rather steep hill to negotiate. We have dinner reservations already for this evening so it was really a case of seeing what else was there. There is choice a plenty from the world-food pizza to Italian, seafood and even Mexican. And there is a variety of price points too.

The island boasts "no cars" in a similar way to Lord Howe Island boasting "very few cars". Hamilton may have less cars than LHI but the proliferation of golf buggies creates traffic chaos. This is made worse by the footpath constantly disappearing and re-appearing on the opposite side of the road. 4pm at the wharf was obviously peak hour. There were buggies and the island shuttle buses everywhere.

The natives appear friendly

Exercise over, it was time to resume the relaxing holiday pose and we repaired to our unit for champagne on the verandah in preparation for dinner.

We were warned not to leave the doors open when we go out. It may well be an obvious and sensible security precaution, but we were told it was to stop the cockatoos coming in and ransacking the room. They looked friendly enough when marauding hordes of them descended upon us, clearly in the hope of getting fed...  We will be closing the doors religiously whenever we are not around to guard the perimeter.

I was just about to upload a couple of photos when I discovered the attachment I need is safely back in Redfern. Nice work Apple, let's keep changing the plug-ins so people have to buy more attachments. No point using the camera for blog pictures, they will all be taken on the iPhone.

Until tomorrow ...