Swimming in the Coral Sea

Literally a few hours after finishing up with the Synchrotron, I was on a plane headed for Hamilton Island. Part of the Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island is located along the Great Barrier Reef off the northeastern coast of Australia. Anita had strongly suggested that I check it out and I can see why she was so enthusiastic about it! The island climate is very tropical. I wouldn't say that it is covered by rain forest, but there are definitely plenty of palm trees and beautiful beaches. The photo to the left shows the view from my balcony at the hotel. Staying here on the island seems to be almost like taking a cruise. I (along with the others on the plane) were greeted by resort staff at the airport and we were transported to the resort. They had tags for us for our luggage and everything was delivered directly to our rooms. Purchases from all of the shops and restaurants on the island can be charged directly to your room (so you don't have to carry money or a credit card with you anywhere).

Transportation on the island is either by foot or by golf cart. There are a few vans, but these are operated by the resorts only. Guests can rent golf carts to get around the island and it is pretty funny to see someone parallel parking a golf cart in the marina/town area of the island. I don't really see why a golf cart would be necessary for someone who is perfectly capable of walking. A relatively short walk will get you most any place that you need to go.

I can tell that we are significantly closer to the equator. The temperature is pretty warm here (though the island breeze probably keeps it a bit cooler than it would be otherwise. It is also extremely humid (tropical, indeed). I have been so used to the dry climates of Austin, Melbourne, and Queenstown that it was a bit of a shock getting off the plane.

I started off exploring by finding a place to have lunch. I came across a nice pizza place down in the marina and town area of the island. I decided that pizza and a tropical drink would make for a nice start to the trip. The view from my table was great. Several yachts were coming in and out of the harbor while I ate lunch. After lunch, I wandered around a bit more to see what other stores and options were available before heading back to the resort. I decided that I would start off the afternoon by finding my way to the beach and going for a swim!

After taking a nice afternoon swim in the Coral Sea, I hiked my way up to the highest point of all the Whitsunday Islands (highest point on the right-hand side of the photo above). The resort brochure labeled this hike as being 'challenging'. They weren't kidding. The hike was listed as being just over 2 km in length which seems like no big deal. However, that didn't take the changes in altitude, humidity, or heat into account. The trail started behind the hotel and was very much a wilderness walk. I saw several tropical birds along the way and a ton of lizards ranging from tiny baby lizards to one that was over 2 feet long. Also, I saw a few wild wallabies! I think you can tell that wallabies and kangaroos don't have many natural predators because they are not sly about trying to run away from something. I accidentally startled one of the wallabies and noticed that as it bounced away, I could see it at the top of each bounce - quite unlike a fox or rabbit or other animal that would run close to the ground. Anyhow, the track was often very steep and rocky and it definitely took a while to navigate through the brush. Finally, I made it to the top and the view was definitely worth the effort. Unfortunately, clouds had started to roll in and the photos don't do the view justice...

After the hike back, I was exhausted. I took a shower and sat out on the balcony enjoying the view for a while. I decided to go into town and buy a bottle of wine to have with the 'leftovers' dinner that I was planning to have. I decided not to go out for dinner since I had leftover pizza from lunch and a few leftovers from the synchrotron shift. So, I managed to put together a decent dinner and enjoyed that on my balcony with some wine. After dinner, I went back down to the marina to get an ice cream cone. I enjoyed the ice cream while enjoying the scenic walk back to the resort where I returned to my balcony for the view. While sitting there, I was joined by a tropical bird who was a few minutes too late for dinner - haha. The bird was very tolerant of me taking photos of it, but eventually he figured out that I didn't have any food for him (or just got bored) and took off. Once it got dark, I decided it was time to call it a good first night on the island!