Travel Guides and Stories

Just returned from Hamilton, still organizing photos, so I'll first write a journal entry to commemorate this brief but wonderful journey~ First off, Hamilton Island is one of the 74 islands in the Whitsundays, located northwest of Brisbane and southeast of Cairns. Although it's an Australian holiday destination, few locals have visited the island (just like our manager had never heard of it), which I understand is similar to how Beijing locals rarely visit the Forbidden City or Great Wall. Getting to the island is convenient - you can take budget airlines like Virgin Blue and Jetstar. Tickets aren't expensive; if booked early from Brisbane, they're around 50 AUD. Alternatively, you can fly to the mainland Whitsundays airport and take a ferry, but since the ferry costs 50 one-way, this route isn't recommended.

The island is fully equipped with facilities, including large hotels and resorts, but they're quite expensive. So I chose self-catering accommodation - a 2-bedroom, 1-living room, 2-bathroom townhouse with ocean views. It included airport transfers and a free buggy (which would cost $85/day to rent separately - remember to bring your driver's license!). All kitchen appliances were provided, amazingly even including cotton pads~ This house only cost 375 AUD per night, or 350 for stays over 4 nights. Split between our seven people, it came to about 50 AUD each. I found this deal on the TripAdvisor forum - incredibly good value!

Now about the food - dining options on the island are limited. The most economical way is to buy groceries and cook yourself, but we were always too exhausted after our daily activities to cook at home. First day we had fish & chips - seven people shared 2 whole roast chickens and 4 boxes of fish & chips. We were stuffed and couldn't finish it all, coming to $12 per person. The fish here is very tender - recommended! Second day was pizza, which I strongly discourage - one pizza costs $25-29, pasta around $30, and the taste is no different from Domino's. I really don't understand putting bean sprouts on shrimp, maybe that's how they eat it, but honestly it was just average. Third day was the steakhouse, which was excellent - the steak was tender yet chewy, and reasonably priced at around $30 per serving including side dishes.

Now for the main attraction - the activities! We chose two days of ocean excursions. The first day we went to Hardy Reef in the Great Barrier Reef, $225 per person for a full day, about 2 hours by boat. The cruise ship was large enough that you wouldn't get seasick, and they provided morning and afternoon tea, plus a buffet lunch with steak and shrimp (extremely delicious). For non-swimmers, they offered submarines, and for children, there were water slides. The reef is very close to the surface, so it's easy to accidentally step on while snorkeling. Even though crew members constantly patrol the surface, they can't prevent all tourists from standing on the coral reef, so you can clearly see that many corals have died. However, the fish are still very beautiful.

They offer helicopter tours here - $110 per person for a 10-minute flight to see Heart Reef, or $399 per person for about 40 minutes flying directly back to Hamilton from the Great Barrier Reef, passing Heart Reef and Whitehaven Beach. After our persistent haggling, we finally got the price down from 399 to 250 (quite an awkward number...). Although this price could get you a return ticket from Brisbane to New Zealand, my friend and I decided to take the helicopter to view the Great Barrier Reef from above to make the most of our trip. It proved to be the right decision - the Great Barrier Reef is absolutely stunning from the air. Plus there's Whitehaven Beach, ranked among the world's top three most beautiful beaches in Australia. If your budget isn't too tight, choosing the helicopter tour will truly fulfill your Great Barrier Reef dreams, haha~

Great Barrier Reef

Heart Reef - a place countless people dream of visiting~~

Great Barrier Reef

Whitehaven Beach

Coincidentally making "2" poses! On the second day, we chose to sail to Whitehaven Beach. This tour is more suitable for swimming enthusiasts since there's snorkeling en route to Whitehaven. I think the most challenging part was jumping directly from the deck into the sea - I struggled for a long time and nearly got kicked off by my roommate, haha. But there was more excitement than danger; I floated up as soon as I hit the water. Honestly, I was really afraid I'd sink straight to the bottom~ This reef was absolutely beautiful, with colorful schools of fish and marine life, and amazingly, these reefs were just a short distance from the beach. After snorkeling, it was time for lunch - another buffet. I was completely content eating large shrimp on deck while enjoying the sea breeze - utterly delightful~    After lunch, the boat arrived at the beach, but we weren't allowed to use snorkeling equipment anymore. The crew prepared to take tourists to the beach by motorboat, but encouraged by Bo, several of us decided to swim to the island. The crew said it was about 200 meters, but swimming left me completely exhausted and sore - ah, I'm definitely getting old... After hastily taking some photos on the beach, we took shelter under the trees. Even so, we still got thoroughly sunburned. It proves that sunscreen is the most important thing for ocean activities, but even my Neutrogena SPF 30 water-resistant sport sunscreen wasn't effective, so fellow Australians might need to resort to online shopping.

Lastly, about souvenirs - we toured all the souvenir shops on the island but couldn't find anything particularly special. Perhaps the most memorable thing would be sending postcards to friends and family from the island. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember anyone's address, and when I called, no one answered. Well, I admit it was only 7 AM, but early birds would have received my postcards, haha! So to that lucky person - enjoy! Alright, that's all for this simple account - wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!