Degustation, boats and beaches

The rest of our Sunday passed by in a blur of dodgy fish and chips, ice cream, feeling unhealthy and getting another early night.

Monday morning dawned grey, raining and miserable, and as a result we were both feeling very unmotivated to get out and do stuff. After a lot of sitting around hoping the weather would clear, we finally gave up and headed out for a walk up to the second highest point of the island, which promised a spectacular view. The climb was challenging, and we got absolutely drenched by the time we got to the top, but was generally quite invigorating. Unfortunately, the 'view' was practically non-existent due to the rain and fog.

When we got back to the hotel, we had lunch downstairs, during which time the sun finally showed its face. By the time we'd showered and read on the balcony for a while, the skies had completely cleared to reveal a beautiful day. George went down to the beach for the free windsurfing lesson, which unfortunately was cancelled because the water was too calm. Meanwhile, I went to the day spa and got a pregnancy massage, which was awesome (although I'm not sure what exactly distinguished it from a regular massage, other than the belly-sized indentation in the table).

Once we'd both read in the sun for a while, we decided to go up to One Tree Hill, where island staff set up a temporary bar with cocktails every evening to watch the sun set. We got the shuttle bus up there and George had a cocktail. The sunset was spectacular, as promised, and we braved the walk down the steep hill back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

I won't go into too much detail about the degustation at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, but suffice it to say that it was the best deg we've ever had and we left feeling very satisfied with the evening.

Today we went on our snorkelling/beach tour, which began on a giant catamaran. We couldn't have chosen a better day - the sky was clear, the sun was shining and the sea was calm. We were taken first to a reef off one of the islands to do some snorkelling, and after some teething issues (I don't care what anyone says, breathing with your face in the water is simply not natural), we were underway.

After my only previous snorkelling experience many years ago, I was quite disappointed - apparently the majority of the reef has been bleached, so there was none of the vivid colours and wildlife that I remembered. This, combined with my mask continually letting in water and fogging up, made the whole expedition quite unsatisfying for me.

After this we had lunch (salad wraps for me, while everyone else scarfed down cold meats and prawns) and headed to our next destination. Whitehaven Beach is Australia's most beautiful beach, and the third best in the world, and it's easy to see why. At least two, possibly three kilometres of pure white sand and vivid blue/green waters, completely undeveloped. We had two hours to wander up and down, lie in the sun or swim in the water before we re-boarded the boat for the trip back to the island.

After a full but enjoyable day, we're planning a quiet dinner at the Steakhouse and another early night. Tomorrow we're going across to Dent Island for lunch and a free tour of the golf club.

Chillin' in the Whitsundays

Today is our second day on Hamilton Island and so far we haven't exactly set the world on fire. We arrived just after 1pm yesterday and discovered the first of many bonuses of staying on the island - free shuttle bus to our resort. After getting settled in our very large room with balcony overlooking the bay, we headed out to find some lunch and do a bit of exploring.

There's a free bus that does a loop of the main area, but we spurned this in favour of walking - and quickly discovered why there's a bus - the hills here are very steep and the bus is well worth the wait! We started out at Catseye Beach and discovered that all snorkelling gear, kayaks, windsurfers and catamarans (including lessons in how to use them) are free for resort dwellers. Bonus, except that watersports aren't really my thing at the best of times, let alone with a bun in the oven.

We then found a cafe and had a quick lunch, accompanied by a few locals - enormous sulphur crested cockatoos and little parrot/rosella type things that perched on neighbouring tables to watch us eat.

After this we had a bit of a walk around the main area and had a drink at the yacht club, a beautiful open air bar overlooking the water. The entire club is shaped like a giant boat and is quite spectacular to look at. We've booked in for dinner in the swanky restaurant for Monday night - the degustation looks awesome.

After a rest in our room, we went out for dinner at a pizza place which, while not exactly rocking the pizza industry, did break records for speedy service - we sat down at 7pm and were out by 7.30. After a 4.30am start that morning, we were more than happy to go back to the hotel for an early night.

We got up early this morning and went out for a cheap breakfast before going to the general store to buy cereal and yoghurt - we're already over eating out for every meal and want to save a bit of money too. After that George went to the gym (also free) while I did 20 lengths of the enormous pool downstairs. We're now contemplating getting on the island's free bus, which goes all the way around the island, and see what else there is to do, plus we'll book a snorkelling day tour for Tuesday.

Overall, Hamilton Island is great, although it's a bit like welcome to the future for us - everywhere you look there are families with babies and young kids. While this is kind of freaky, it's also comforting to know that holidays with small children are accessible, practically if not financially.

Finally, I apologise for any typos or Americanised spellings - I'm writing this on my iPhone and auto correct is rife.