I was given the opportunity to travel to Whitsundays thanks to Virgin Blue, Tourism Whitsundays and Ros. My Whitsunday famil was very special and
exciting for me as it was my first famil/educational trip.
I spent 5 fabulous, slightly hectic on several island resorts.
My famil started at the Virgin Blue lounge airport on Friday 19th of May. We all gathered and introduced ourselves. Once we hit Hamilton Island we were greeted by one of the staff at Sunsail. Sunsail is the world’s leading yacht charter company with more than 1200 yachts, catamarans and cruisers in 23 countries and 40 cruising areas worldwide. In Australia it is based on Hamilton Island. We had a brief introduction of their product and we boarded one of their catamarans, which took us to South Molle. On board the catamaran we all relaxed with a few glasses of champagne and a lovely cheese platter and got to know one another.
We arrived to South Molle Island couple hours later feeling all relaxed. We were greeted by Kate Turner the BDM who welcomed us with yummy cocktails and took us on a brief tour of the island. The island is very casual and relaxed. I thought it was more catered to families and big groups as each room came with a bunk bed. South Molle has a golf course as well as a 16 km bush walking tracks. South Molle is all inclusive tropical island three full meals a day. Seafood buffet is available on the weekends, which we were lucky enough to enjoy while watching ‘Flames of Polynesia’. I was told that the Seafood buffet/Flames of Polynesia attracted a lot of mainland locals. Once we enjoyed our dinner/drinks and the show we all headed back to our rooms to get ready for our early start the following morning.
The following morning we made our way to Daydream Island to board Camira a high-speed catamaran. Camira is provided by Cruise Whitsunday, which is a new cruise operator. They also have trips to the Great Barrier Reef on ‘Seaflight’ which is 37 metre vessel. This vessel has a stabiliser which minimises motion sickness by up to 70%. This is the only vessel with a giant waterslide which attracts adults and children. I was really looking forward to experience this tour but unfortunately we were stuck with Fantasea.
Camira Day Sailing Adventure was a great experience. I thought they had great service with all meals included. It was definitely a relaxing day as we sat outside soaking up the sun and enjoying the views. It took quite some time to get to Whitehaven beach. Once we arrived to Whitehaven Beach we had an hour on the beach to work on our tans as well as watch people snorkelling and playing cricket. It was a bit too cold that day so the ladies and I decided to watch people snorkel. Once back on catamaran we had lunch and off we went sailing to another snorkelling sight. By the time we got off the catamaran we were all quite exhausted as it was a long day.
After our sailing, we ended up at Airlie Beach and got transferred to our accommodation for the night. One group stayed at the Water’s Edge, the other at Pinnacles, and I was with the group staying at the Martinique. It was a lovely self-contained unit with beautiful view and a lovely edge pool. The apartment was very spacious we each had our own bathroom. Although the location is about 10 minutes walk to the shops I think it’s great as you get away from the noisy backpackers and you get a great view from the hill. Unfortunately we only had one night at the Martinique which was a shame. We had dinner at Capers Restaurant which was very nice it also had a nice bar inside. After dinner a few girls and I decided to check out the nightlife of Airlie Beach. It was very interested and very mixed culture as it was full of back packers. We didn’t stay out too late because we had another early start for some more cruising!
Fantasea Cruise is the famous cruise that takes you to the Fantasea Reef World. Reefworld, is the largest Australian owned off shore facility on the Barrier Reef has every convenience such as showers, sun decks, submersible coral viewing, and snorkelling equipment. You can also stay over night at the Reefworld. They also have helicopter rides to view the reef from the top this costs extra. A big buffet lunch is provided once we arrive at the Reefworld. I had a lovely time but again it was a bit cold and windy but I did try to snorkel wearing a wet suit it was not that bad. We all tried to work on our tans on the Sun Deck which had an amazing view of the reef but the cold strong wind and a bit of rain didn’t help.
After the Fantasea Cruise we were transferred to Long Island. Upon arrival we were greeted by Resort Manager Jayne Pester and a Train/bus sort of transfer from the wharf to the resort. The Island is 3.5 star resort but I was amazed at the cleanliness and the service was great. The island is over 2000 acres of National Park with 20 kilometres of walking tracks. They have a lot of entertainment at night such as games night, casino night, and disco nights.
The following day was all about the transfer to get us to Brampton Island. We were all excited as Brampton Island has a very good reputation. It ended up being a quite long day. We caught the ferry to Shute Harbour from Shute Harbour to Mackay Marina. Our boat transfer from Mackay Marina to Brampton was a nightmare. I will not recommend guest to catch the boat to Brampton, as it is the choppiest ride I have ever experienced and it was about an hour and a half ride. Brampton Island is at the Southern Entrance of the Whitsunday passage. They have many activities such as bush walking, different beaches, and water sports. All meals are included as well. When we arrived we took part in a cocktail class which was a lot of fun we learnt quite a lot and were allowed to drink all the cocktails made. We were suppose to go on a sunset cruise with the General Manager but the girls were a bit tired of the boat rides it got cancelled and instead we relaxed and just enjoyed the resort.
As it was our last night we had a lovely meal and went downstairs to take part on the Karaoke Night. We all got together as a team and sang ‘Come Fly with Me’ *Virgin Blue Style* we ended up singing all night with our singing hat on.
Overall my first famil was a success. All the early morning start was really worth the experience I got of Whitsunday.
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