Hamilton Island
27 July 2009 | Hamilton Island
Elizabeth
Wonderful news! Our headsail could be repaired. We left it with Tony for the day and by late afternoon he had stitched the base and helped us to reinstall it. We had four wonderful days here. One of the highlights were the many walking trails which allowed you to explore the island by foot. On one occasion we chose the Resort Lookout which is the second highest point on the island and drops off to sheer cliff faces, revealing an excellent view of the main resort area, marina village, airport and surrounding islands. We missed the turn-off on the way back to the marina which made our journey long and tedious. On other days, we walked to the resort areas, privately owned properties, checked out the different pools and bars and even investigated apartments for sale. ( Peter can't help himself!!!!!) Along the waterfront a huge and rather spectacular yacht club is being built and should be ready for a "soft opening" to accommodate Race Week in a few weeks time. We realised that a great deal of maintenance and tender loving care goes into keeping the island looking so pristine.
Most evenings were spent at the local pub meeting new people or catching up with those we had met along the way....Terry and Jane from Perth, Brian and Wendy on " Windvane", Peter and Paula and their friends from Canberra on "Valhalla". A real surprise was meeting Barry who was aboard a game fishing cruiser which was in the pen next to us. He recognised Aphelion and told us that he knew David Bass who built her. What a small world!!
One of the things that I will remember about the island is the number of different types of birds.... lorrikeets, crows, currawongs, cockatoos, finches. In the early evening their bird calls are amazing. What is so wonderful to see is how well they interact with people. You will often see them perched on tables sharing food. They are not intimidated at all.
Our final day was spent fuelling, getting water on board, cleaning and preparing for our departure the following morning. That evening we decided to dress for dinner and dined at Romano's, an Italian Restaurant. Unfortunately, it was very noisy and the food wasn't particularly good. Nevertheless, we still had a good time. We'll be returning to Hamilton Island to pick up our friends, John and Jenny, in a few weeks time.
The best part of our stay here was finding out that Richelle's ultrasound went well. Mia will have a baby brother or sister in February. We will be grandparents again!!!!!