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Australia e-journal |
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Hamilton Island, Aus |
Monday,
September 23, 2002 |
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Factoids: · Billabong Sanctuary – better than
the Australian Zoo · Sub-Zero cooler no longer made! · Hamilton Island – lots of white
sand, beautiful beaches · American newlywed killed in plane
crash 2 days after we left island · Pump is the Australian equivalent to Dasani
(Coca-Cola products) · McDonald’s ain’t cheap here! (Combos start at A$5.00) |
Completing what happened last journal entry – the room was good, dinner was buffet (again). Why is everything a buffet here? Do they want me to be fat? I’m half-way there already! Buffet had a brilliant soup – it had some kick to it! Bread was fresh and I like the steam that comes out when it’s so warm. We tried to order Sub-Zero but to no avail – we got Vodka Cruisers instead (on the house, which was nice). Dorothy did not appreciate the raspberry flavour – it tasted like medicine, or so she said. I had the blueberry flavour – it was pretty good. Too bad it stained my tongue and teeth blue! After supper, we went for a tour around the grounds. There was a wedding in the back and we noticed the couple from New Zealand checking things out (Peter and Dora) – very nice and friendly couple. They told us about their journey to New Zealand – they are originally German but when they partitioned Berlin, they fled. Peter is really an ‘East German’ and Dora lived in West Berlin. I don’t think they have ventured back to the Fatherland yet but who knows? --- Yesterday, we travelled from Townsville to Hamilton Island (resort). Along the way, we visited Billabong Sactuary. That’s where we petted the animals (koala, emu, python, kangaroo) and took lots of photos. Not a bad place at all. We had breakfast there and the stuff was really greasy. Lucky my cast-iron gut could handle all that oil… Then there was a 3-hr drive to Argyle Beach. We had to be there before the ferry left for Hamilton Island. Had lunch at McDonald’s (Big Mac combo!) and we also stopped for water (Pump) and dessert bars (fruit ones are good!). We made it to the island by 4 and we went for a swim – it was the pool by our hotel with a lot of kids in it but it was nice. Too bad the sides & bottom were stony. It took a while for our bags to get to our room! The room is fantastic – very spacious and every room has a view of the ocean (the place is appropriately called the Reef View Hotel). 
For supper, we went to the Yacht Club. Food was buffet – fish, beef, chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, and garden salad. Food – hope it would have been better… Afterwards, we headed back to the resort in time for the trivia contest (as stated in the travel itinerary) – prizes to be won! However, it got cancelled for a wedding party. Instead, they had an observatory to take a view of the moon – quite interesting. A bunch of tour members went to the bar lounge to relax and talk (Arnault, Rebecca, Robert & wife, John & wife). John explained to us the basics of cricket. They were showing it on the tele (England vs Sri Lanka). D and I retired for the evening around 10 – I did laundry. How exciting! --- Today, the weather is fantastic (again). Had breakfast at the other place in the resort – pesky cockatoos! We had to eat quickly otherwise we would have missed the windsurfing lessons. After being out in the water for a couple of hours, I quickly realized that I suck at windsurfing! We went for a swim in the freshwater pool after to cool off (and wash all that salt water off as well). We went back to the room to rest up – it was a hectic morning. A quick shower and some more laundry – put stuff out on the veranda to dry. That helped a lot more than putting it in the bathroom. (The clothes in the bathroom have a musty smell to them. YUCK!) My khaki shorts and denim shorts require lots of time to dry… We went out for lunch – walked along the riverside and finally ended up at the bakery. We bought croissants, a sandwich and a drink (Schweppes lemonade – very tasty!) We ate it in a gazebo (stupid cockatoo!) A nap was taken in the afternoon – a nature walk was taken thereafter. What a walk it was indeed! I don’t know what constitutes an ‘easy’ designation because the first leg of the walk was certainly not easy! The second leg noted moderate and it was quite challenging. I didn’t even bother to learn what difficult was! I took a tub bath tonight – to nurse my aching legs and the slight sunburn on my shoulders. Went to supper at 7:30 – walked around and settled for the fish & chips store. We had the special – everything deep-fried! It was great! Fish and the other fried things were really fresh. I enjoyed it. Tonight, we’re watching the Emmys – probably tape delayed but it looked live to us! Will call it an early night – bags are due outside the room for 6:15AM. We board the bus at 7:15AM. That sucks! |