The Resort
Boxing Day, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland
We have few traditions in our family, but one of them is to take a country walk on Boxing Day. Although always a struggle to get out of bed, it nearly always proves to be excellent; the fresh winter air, the crisp frosty ground under foot, the sun setting at 2pm and of course a pint in a traditional country pub.
This Christmas, in Airlie Beach, there were murmurs of trying to emulate this fine tradition under the Australian sun. In the end, it was decided that we would take a boat out to one of the islands, relax on the beach, walk in the rainforest and partake in a little snorkelling. Our destination; Daydream island (see nice brochure picture above).
There are already a couple of mistakes that I should point out. Firstly the name - the island used to be called West Molle Island, but when it was purchased by new owners, they decided to name it after their sailing boat. Who does that? Naming an island after a boat is like naming a child after a nightclub. Stupid.
The second, is why on earth would you give a boat a name like that? Everyone knows that boats should carry names such as Hood, Illustrious or GSV Uninvited Guest. Certainly not daydream.
When I arrived on the island, a wave of concern ran over me as I saw people getting picked up from the ferry point in golf carts. Eerie and things did not improve. As I worked my way to the other end of the island, I distinctly felt that we could well be in a Butlins resort. Heavy handed landscaping had put pay to much of the original flora and replaced it with grass and sprinklers. Our lunch (included in our package) was taken next to the man made coral reef where some old people were trying to feed bread to a shark.
After lunch, we took ourselves away, past the IKEA chapel (below) and via a 'rainforest walk' (although there was scarcely enough canopy to justify the claim) to get some snorkels. On the way we passed through the hotel proper which contained some unpleasant upholstery and a number of large fibreglass fish hanging from the ceiling. The entire island would have been excellent fun if it had been deserted instead of being thronged with people who appeared to rather like it.
It was not all bad - the snorkelling was great and large shoals of fish surrounded us in 2 ft of water. Throughout the day I had been acutely aware that there were few ways off the island and only when we took the ferry at the end of the day, was I able to relax and enjoy freedom.
We have few traditions in our family, but one of them is to take a country walk on Boxing Day. Although always a struggle to get out of bed, it nearly always proves to be excellent; the fresh winter air, the crisp frosty ground under foot, the sun setting at 2pm and of course a pint in a traditional country pub.
This Christmas, in Airlie Beach, there were murmurs of trying to emulate this fine tradition under the Australian sun. In the end, it was decided that we would take a boat out to one of the islands, relax on the beach, walk in the rainforest and partake in a little snorkelling. Our destination; Daydream island (see nice brochure picture above).
There are already a couple of mistakes that I should point out. Firstly the name - the island used to be called West Molle Island, but when it was purchased by new owners, they decided to name it after their sailing boat. Who does that? Naming an island after a boat is like naming a child after a nightclub. Stupid.
The second, is why on earth would you give a boat a name like that? Everyone knows that boats should carry names such as Hood, Illustrious or GSV Uninvited Guest. Certainly not daydream.
When I arrived on the island, a wave of concern ran over me as I saw people getting picked up from the ferry point in golf carts. Eerie and things did not improve. As I worked my way to the other end of the island, I distinctly felt that we could well be in a Butlins resort. Heavy handed landscaping had put pay to much of the original flora and replaced it with grass and sprinklers. Our lunch (included in our package) was taken next to the man made coral reef where some old people were trying to feed bread to a shark.
After lunch, we took ourselves away, past the IKEA chapel (below) and via a 'rainforest walk' (although there was scarcely enough canopy to justify the claim) to get some snorkels. On the way we passed through the hotel proper which contained some unpleasant upholstery and a number of large fibreglass fish hanging from the ceiling. The entire island would have been excellent fun if it had been deserted instead of being thronged with people who appeared to rather like it.
It was not all bad - the snorkelling was great and large shoals of fish surrounded us in 2 ft of water. Throughout the day I had been acutely aware that there were few ways off the island and only when we took the ferry at the end of the day, was I able to relax and enjoy freedom.
Labels: Australia
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