Written by Alex
It’s hard to write and try to not be too over the top with the wows, amazements and gushes – especially when I do something like play Hamilton Island Golf Club. This place lived up to every expectation. The weather was picture perfect, the skies and water all a magnificent blue, and the Whitsunday Islands popping out of the sea in any direction we looked. There was hardly a single hole that didn’t have some view, some more impressive than others, but I always found a place to stop and just stare.
The trip over to play the club required that we take a short boat ride over to Dent Island from Hamilton Island (yes, the Hamilton Island Golf Club is not on Hamilton Island…). The ride was included in our greens fees. Once across, a shuttle bus took us up the hill to the clubhouse. As we pulled up they provided a cool rag and drink, then we settled up for the round. Kim chose to play 9 while I of course played the 18. With rental clubs the entire day was a little over $200 US. This course would cost us over $200 each in the US!
I didn’t play particularly well as I was using rentals and I am rusty, but wound up shooting an 89. Whatever – it wasn’t about the score! It was about these views!! Played the back 9 with Kim (we started on 10) and then the front 9 with a single that was behind us from California (Cody) – first American we’ve run into on Hamilton Island. Lots of pictures to follow since they can say more than I can (and I’ve already rambled enough about it…).
One more note on the golf – I hit the pin on one of the par 3s, a 155 yard hole with the wind coming at me from the right. I took one extra club (5 iron) and one hopped it into the flagstick! It bounced away to about 8 feet and I missed the putt. But I had a thrill for a moment. Still no ace for me – but getting closer!
One other thing I noticed – the golf carts (oops, I mean “buggies”) all have their steering wheels on the left side of the cart, not the right like the cars down here. I found that strange and it surprised me that the cart makers don’t flip the steering wheel over for these countries that drive on the left.
After golf we got the boat back to Hamilton Island and decided to get lunch at the Tavern, which is where we ate the chicken parmis yesterday. We ordered a chicken sandwich and wings to split, and a couple of beers. Before our food was ready I went to the restroom – and on my way back I hear Kim yelling and running back toward our table. The food had come and she got up to quickly grab some utensils. Bad move. The birds swooped in a grabbed nearly all of the chicken wings!! The staff was nice and whipped up another order for us, but I was surprised Kim felt comfortable enough to leave that food even for a few seconds. The birds are relentless and quick! I had taken a picture of this guy roaming around on the floor just before he likely pilfered one of our wings. If you see this criminal, please dial 911.
After lunch we went back and sat out on our beautiful balcony and both took naps. Every once in a while one of the brothers of the convict bird pictured above would land on the rail to see if we had any goodies for him. They have warnings about not leaving the balcony doors open and you get fined if a bird gets into your apartment. I can see why, these suckers are aggressive!
Tonight for dinner we had reservations at the Thai restaurant, CoCa Chu. The waitress recommended we do a couple of starters and then one main to share, since they are pretty large. Her suggestion was spot on, the amount we had was perfect. It was a very nice last dinner here on Hamilton Island. I’m going to miss this place and I want to come back!!
On the way to and from dinner we saw three of these fellas hanging out on the lawn in front of our hotel. Very tame and unafraid, they would just look up at us and go about their business. Remind us a lot of the deer at home!
Some notes about Hamilton Island. I’ve never quite seen a resort set up like this, except maybe Disney? The hotels, restaurants and resort facilities are sort of on par with Disney World, but without the Disney parks and on a island near the Great Barrier Reef. There are different places to stay, but there are shuttles, restaurants, bars, beach, a resort center and pools that are shared by all. There are conferences happening here with big parties happening at night, there are weddings, there are families staying here, there are couples. There are golf groups. It isn’t a quiet place, but it’s a very pretty and fun place.
Back on the road tomorrow as we drive down to Hervey Bay for our visit to Fraser Island.
Snakes , snakes
Snakes. Hell no
Great to see that you are enjoying the Land of Oz. If you see a snake grab it and put it on the Barbie…. tastes like chicken!