We awoke early this morning so we could leave our hotel around 8AM to head to the domestic terminal at Sydney airport.  For the next few days, we would relax in the Whitsunday Islands.

After checking in for our flight, we settled in at the airport lounge for some breakfast.  We were a little disappointed when they made an announcement that our flight would be delayed by 2.5 hours while they tried to find another aircraft.  Then 15 minutes later, I asked at the desk why they had not changed the departures board to reflect the announced delay, the agent made a few calls, and 5 minutes later the plane was boarding.  I’m glad I asked, or we might not have learned the delay was cancelled!

After about two and one half hours, we landed at Great Barrier Reef Airport on Hamilton Island.  Immediately after walking off the airport tarmac, we saw two people with a sign bearing our names.  One of them went to claim our baggage, while the other one drove us to our resort.  It was a little overcast when we arrived, but fortunately it would clear up a little later, and improve even more the next day.

Upon arrival, it became clear that this was a very nice place.  After completing some check-in paperwork over champagne, we were given the keys to our electric golf buggy for use during our stay (there are no traditional gas powered vehicles on the island, except for commercial use), and we were then shown to our pavilion.  Here are some photos of our home for the next few days.

The main living room with doors that slide open to the deck and pool.

A small office area.

Bedroom with very nice view.

Very nice bathroom, with both and indoor and outdoor showers.

And the deck and pool areas.

After a refreshing swim, we headed out to explore the island.

After a day of exploring and relaxing, we headed down to the resort’s dining pavilion for dinner.  Here are a few photos, as best I can take them at night.  We had a lovely corner table on the deck, where the ocean breezes were very refreshing.

I’ll post more outside photos tomorrow, because we were blessed with a lot more sunshine than we had today, so I expect the photos will be much nicer.

Today was a partly sunny day in Sydney, and we started by exploring the Circular Quay area by our hotel.  This area is basically the main transportation hub of downtown Sydney, where you can catch a bus, train or ferry to pretty much anywhere in the city.  It’s also a great spot for restaurants and cafes, as well as the Botanic Gardens and the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

This is the wharf area at Circular Quay.  We had lunch at one of these sidewalk cafes.

Looking back at the city skyline from the wharf.

Here is the Opera House at the end of the pier.

Looking across at the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the pier by the Opera House.

For a while, we thought about doing the Harbour Bridge climb.  However, after seeing the people in the following photo walking across the top of the bridge, we chickened out reconsidered.

Later in the afternoon, we took one of the Sydney commuter ferries over to Manly, which is a beach area of Sydney.

We arrived in Manly and explored the area.  There are plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants, and a very nice beach.

After dinner, we caught the ferry back to Circular Quay.  Sydney is a beautiful city at night, and while I tried taking some photos of the harbour bridge and opera house all lit up, my amateur photography skills are simply not good enough to take night photos from a moving boat.

We then returned to the hotel to pack for our flight to Hamilton Island tomorrow morning.