Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef

What a trip!!! This might be my favorite vacation ever. Really.

Hamilton Island is located in a group of islands called the Whitsundays off the Queensland coast. It's a small island but has everything I would want in a vacation. We rented a 2 bedroom apartment so that we could do easy breakfasts and lunches and have plenty of room for the whole family. The place was nice and big and came fully equipped. We loved having the patio, grassy area, and a view!

Here's our view from the living area.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon. We did some grocery shopping and then drove around to do some exploring. The island is small and most visitors get around in golf buggies. It worked out nicely that a golf buggy was included with our accomodation. Riding around the island on it was one of the highlights of the trip for both kids.

The island featured a great little playground arranged like a pirate ship. We visited several times.

C was singing some sea-faring song.

As you can imagine, a highlight for me was dining out! We loved the pizza and pasta at The Manta Ray Cafe. Right on the marina- beautiful, peaceful, and tasty! Not knowing how the weather would be while we were there, we chose to do the most important excursion right away. So, we booked out trip out the the Great Barrier Reef for Monday morning. The company taking us out offers a great deal. The boat docks at a platform right beside a section of the reef. The platform has everything one needs for snorkeling, SCUBA diving, or just viewing the place and staying dry. And, they offer child care on the boat! A morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack are also provided. And it was delicious!

So we set out to sea on Monday morning. We docked at the platform and we all got out to have a look. Lots to see! The reef is right there at your feet and you are surrounded by beautiful ocean. I took the kids up to the daycare and suited up for snorkeling, Todd got into his gear for diving, and off we went! Amazing! Sadly, I had no underwater camera with me and took no photos of myself but here's T.

After a great time in the water, I went up to get the kids. We had high hopes that D would be up for snorkeling as well. She's a heck of a swimmer and we really wanted her to have this opportunity. So, when T came up from his dive, we suited her up and took her out.

She was a little intimidated at first. After all, the snorkel can feel funny and you are out in the middle of the ocean with fish swimming between your legs. Could be a lot for a 4-year-old to handle! But, they had the perfect facility for her and she could get in slowly and get the hang of it. The instructor came by just at the right time with the orange life preservers and took she and T out to the reef. She LOVED it!

We didn't attempt to put C in the water, though I sort of wish I would have, just to say he's done it. He enjoyed the view from the underwater observatory and the glass-bottom boat. Lots to see, even if one chooses to stay dry. There was a photographer on board as well as an underwater videographer so we purchased a DVD that had footage of all of us. T diving, myself and D snorkeling, and C pressing his face against the windows of the observatory, giving fish kisses.

It was a marvelous day. The staff fed us yummy food and took good care of us when the rough seas proved to be a little much for C and myself to handle. That was no fun. The kids slept the whole way back, poor C was ready for a sleep after a change of clothes and a cuddle.

Here's a pic of the islands on our way back to the marina.

More to come...