Hamilton Island and The Great Barrier Reef

No longer just a tropical paradise of unspoilt beauty attracting adventurers and romantics, the picture painted by Travel Editor Felice Hardy reveals that Hamilton Island also offers affordable, exciting, educational, action-packed experiences that all the family will enjoy.

Neil Armstrong saw it from the moon, but nothing on earth – or off it – prepares you for a close encounter with the kaleidoscopic beauty of the largest living object in the universe. At first sight, the natural reaction was to open my mouth wide in wonder. But as I was lying face down in the Pacific Ocean at the time and breathing air through a snorkel, this seemed inadvisable.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches in splendour for 1,250 nautical miles off the East Coast of Australia. It is home to 400 species of coral and 1,500 types of fish. Every day as many as a 1,000 visitors make the journey from the coast and nearby islands to snorkel, dive, and gaze in wonder at the myriad fish and coral. Hamilton Island is perfectly located among the 74 Whitsunday Islands surrounded by the world heritage Great Barrier Reef and with the only airport in the island group it’s a convenient gateway to all the Reef has to offer. It certainly fulfils the tropical paradise dream, with palm-fringed beaches and cerulean blue seas.

Our day had begun with breakfast on the balcony of our villa on Hamilton Island. The island is establishing itself as a world-class affordable family holiday destination, with children up to 14 years staying and eating free at selected restaurants. From self-catering apartments to the five star Beach Club (which does not cater for children under 18 years), and a choice of wide and varied restaurants from award-winning cuisine on the beach, a gourmet picnic hamper on top of Passage Peak plus a range of takeaway outlets, there is something to suit all tastes and budgets. The Clownfish Club is Hamilton Island’s childcare centre, offering a variety of activities for children from six weeks to 14 years, including arts and crafts, beachcombing, snorkeling, fishing, mini golf and pool games. The activities are not just for kids, the island offers daily tours to the Great Barrier Reef and the stunning Whitehaven Beach, sea kayaking, twilight sailing, fishing, scenic flights or simply relaxing by the pool. Eco-friendly Hamilton is car-free. Transport is by sedate golf buggies that climb up and down the steep hills that are home to wallabies, fruits bats, cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets. See even more flora and fauna on foot with 20km of bushwalking trails across the island.

Koalas can be seen close-up on the Koala Gallery Wildlife Experience, and friendly wallabies regularly come down to feed around the hotels at sunset. Some 70 per cent of the island remains untouched by development, with myriad paths to explore, as well as beaches surrounded by clear waters. Our favourite spot was Catseye Beach, with its windsurfing, and barbecues around the swimming-pool.

The highlight during our stay was a cruise aboard the Fantasea catamaran to the Reef world pontoon for a day – or in our case the night. Under the Pacific Ocean hides a veritable Garden of Eden with forests and mountains of coral of all shapes and sizes. The colours have to be seen to be believed – purple, pink, indigo, turquoise, citrus yellow and sunset orange. You can spy this underwater kingdom from the glass-bottom semi-submersible that patrols the edge of the reef – or best of all you can dive or snorkel.

Once away from the pontoon, our snorkelling guide Soozie opened a packet of fish food. Her face was immediately hidden by shoals of greedy fish. Shimmering silver Hardyheads, stripy Sergeant Majors, blue and yellow Fusiliers, large Trevallies, and fat Maori Wrasse surrounded us, all waiting for titbits. Reefworld is a friendly place. Over the years it has been generating a small ecosystem in its own right, with coral, sponges and algae all growing profusely on the underside of the pontoon. If you want to explore deeper you can join an instructor for a dive along the Reef’s edge – and you can do so in the sure knowledge that your children are being well looked after. Club Seahorse is the first childcare service offered by a marine operator in the Great Barrier Reef MarinePark. Children aged six months to 14 years are cared for free of charge.

Our real Reef experience began once the sleek catamaran on which we had arrived cast off and headed for shore. We were then left alone on the pontoon with our guides Soozie and Jean, the sole guests in a miniature hotel that gives its address as Lat 19 11S Long 149 10E. Back in the water for a sunset snorkel, it felt almost as if the fish knew that the crowds had left for the day. A host of more timid species ventured out from the reef to surround the pontoon and us.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” said my daughter Izzi. “Have we come to look at them, or have they come to look at us?” A large and inquisitive green turtle swam by, followed by a Spangled Emperor with a body like mother-of-pearl, a shoal of parrotfish, and an unidentified ray that according to my son, Barney looked ‘a bit like a pancake’. From August to October you can also see Humpback whales, which pass through the shallow waters on their annual southward migration to their breeding grounds.

As the last red rays of the sun disappeared behind the distant Whitsundays, we sat on the deck eating reef fish cooked by Soozie and watching the roosting of scores of Whitecap Noddy and other seabirds that use Reef world as their nightly perch.

Marooned on one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World, isolation was absolute as we retired to the two nautically-decorated bedrooms. After a leisurely breakfast, the Reefsleep experience came to an end with the arrival of a fresh boatload of excited day visitors.

Like the rainforest, the Reef is under threat from human interference in the lifecycle of the coral. Most damaging of all is global warming: a slight rise in sea temperature of 1 to 2 degrees C causes the coral to become stressed, lose its colour, and self-destruct. The greater the understanding of the Reef, the more effective will be its conservation. As the advice of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reads: “Take with you photographs and memories, and leave behind only bubbles”.