Mwenenzi

Good reading and pic's.
Why did you not use the passport e-gates? {Assuming Canadian passport as airport in your profile}. People line up at the first ticket machines in the corridor, but closer to the e-gates the ticket machines are often less busy.
The fast track invitation is far more useful for customs.
But I have never arrived at MEL at the very busy time of ~07:30

{SYD & BNE have trains, but not MEL. A train MEL to the city will be decades away}

nequine

Really loving your report so far - we just love visiting Melbourne so your photos are a nice reminder of a city we love!

I was initially going to say would it not have been cheaper to take a taxi from LAX to the Marriott until I then saw you went for a drive. What were the crosses about on the Santa Monica beach?

You used to get an in and and out stamp in your passport on visiting Australia and I too miss the stamp to prove you've been to a foreign country but the e-Gates certainly speed up the immigration process. And the Aussie border security programme is quite good - they seem to capture a lot of 'daft' people!

Wow at the pics from your friends workplace - cheaper than going to Eureka!

Dover2Golf

Brilliant report. I've never had a great love for Melbourne even though work takes me there a couple of times each year but I see it a bit differently now thanks to your pics.

Taker Park

The crosses are represent US war dead since 2001, IIRC.

worldtraveller73

Yarra Valley,
Victoria, Australia

I woke up at about 7:30 AM today while MrsWT73 slept in a little bit. The plan was to get out of the city for a day trip to the Yarra Valley. After breakfast, I walked over to the Hertz on Flinders Street to pick up a rental. I booked a Nissan Qashqai but Hertz Five Star status had me upgraded me into a larger Nissan X-Trail (Nissan Rogue for North American markets). The car was shiny and clean with less than 5,000 km on it. There was a caution that toll use would result in a $38 AUD charge after the administrative fees; which was valuable information to have in route planning. There are tolls seemingly everywhere in Melbourne.

After downloading our destinations into offline Google Maps, we set out via the back roads to the Yarra Valley. It was only about 1 hour’s drive from Melbourne through some interesting back roads. We were in the quiet Yarra Valley before we knew it. It’s always welcoming to having winery directions along with the typical Australian yellow diamond Kangaroo sign.







We arrived via Coldstream Road at the bottom end of the Valley. Our first stop was at Coldstream Hills. Coldstream Hills was one of the boutique brands owned by SouthCorp wines. The visit was at a small cellar door which was both intimate and personal.









We ended up walking away with several bottles for our Whitsunday sailing trip, including their Pinot Gris, Sauvingon Blanc, Merlot and a sparkling. From there, it was a few minutes up the road to Yarra Yering.








Yarra Yering was the highest "price point" winery that we visited on today’s tasting route. The tasting on offer today was $15 AUD and afforded the opportunity to taste 8 wines. The wines were all of excellent quality; both delicate on the palette and with subtle strength in their structure. Most surprisingly, thanks to the winter season, we were the first tasting room visitors of the day at 1 PM. We had fresh bottles opened for us for each varietal tasting opportunity.









There were pleasant wintery views from the tasting room at Yarra Yering...



We made our third stop at the large estate like Domaine de Chandon. Chandon is now owned by the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) group and it shows with the amount of moneyed infrastructure compared many of the other smaller operators.







MrsWT73 enjoyed a sparkling tasting and I enjoyed late lunch at the restaurant at Chandon. Lunch was Pan Roasted Ocean Trout, with Pancetta Vinaigrette, Du Puy Lentils, and Braised Fennel paired with the recommended Chandon Vintage Brut Rose 2015. Like with many other portion sizes in Australia, the portions were generous and plentiful. MrsWT73 enjoyed a mixed salad and pommes frites with rosemary salt and aioli. Overall it was super tasty.









Our last stop of the day had us through Yering Station. MrsWT73 enjoyed the last tasting of the day on her own since I was driving. The tasting room was in an antiqued barn with some interesting and eclectic taxi-dermy art on the sides. MrsWT73 enjoyed the Shiraz and the Viognier.











We had a nice leisurely drive back to Melbourne with a simple slice of pizza for dinner. I garaged the car at the hotel for $60 AUD valet only. It was explained that I could park overnight in one of the garages locally but the car would have to by out by 6 AM. I didn’t think MrsWT73 would be up for that occasion so valet it was. Otherwise a nice quiet day through the peaceful Yarra Valley.

worldtraveller73

Great Ocean Road.
Anglesea to The Twelve Apostles
Australia

We had 4 days in Melbourne getting used to the time zone change after arriving from North America. With efforts to try and get the most out of our time in Melbourne, we aimed to visit the Twelve Apostles and the Great Ocean Road. It’s located quite a ways from the Melbourne CBD at about four and a half hours drive from Melbourne.



We were up at 7:30 AM to get ready to drive the Great Ocean Road. We enjoyed the last of our included breakfasts at the hotel before setting off on our journey at about 10 AM.

It was a 250 km drive (one way) from Melbourne down the coast through Angelsea, past many points of interest ending at the Twelve Apostles. We would have incredibly variable weather for the day’s drive; somewhere between bright sunshine and thundershowers with gale force winds. Thankfully, the systems would change every 15 minutes or so making for an interesting experience throughout the day.





It was about 90 minutes before we actually got to the coast and started getting some beautiful scenery. Anglesea had many vacation homes from Melbourian's it seemed, most with a great view of the water.













The highway got quite a bit windy through this stretch with many spots to pull over and take photographs with narrow stops that clung closely to the cliffs below.

Some photographs from Devil’s Elbow…











We continued on towards Big Hill; another terrific viewpoint area.







And around towards more beautiful views in Cumberland River.









Being winter, we only had about 7 hours of day light on this trip so we stopped for lunch in Apollo Bay at a locally famous bakery offering meat pies.





After lunch, we eventually entered the Great Otaway National Park. We took a turn off the main road and headed down towards Cape Orsey. Cape Orsey was the sight of one of the most southern lighthouses in Australia. The Great Otaway National Park is known for its wildlife and boasts one of the best opportunities to see koalas in the wild.





The entry to the park was an area where it was expected to be on the lookout for wild animals. Indeed, similar to an African Safari, several cars were pulled over looking at things in the gump trees. Thanks to another car’s help, we were able to see a koala bear in the wild sleeping in one of the trees. Even with a 300 mm lens, it was hard to get a solid shot.

The further south we got, the vegetation changed.



We made it to the Cape Orsey light house. The light house had a $20 AUD admission fee. MrsWT73 wasn’t to keen on it but I made her go since we’d come all this way. After all, it’s only money (laughing). It ended up being a very spectacular spot to spend an hour in.









It was exceptionally windy at the light house; I would guess the winds were approximately 70-80 km/h.



There were more spectacular views from the lighthouse. We were able to climb up to the top. We were even able to see the inter functioning of the lamp which was still spinning but not light since it was daytime.









From there, it was a short drive up to the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles were the star of the drive today. They are concealed from the roadway and you wouldn’t typically see them from the road if you didn’t know that they were there. It was starting to fall to dusk at the time of our visit, which made the time there all that more special.

While we were at the Twelve Apostles, it was incredibly windy with gusts probably over 90 – 100 km/h. The gusts were so strong, I had trouble taking photographs with the iPhone and nearly lost it blown away to the wind a few times.















The Twelve Apostles are suffering from erosion. There are only 7 of them actually left but it seems that many more are being carved out from the continued waves crashing against the shore.





We headed around the rocky promenade to take in the spectacular rocky coast walls as the sun set over this wonderful landscape.



















After the Twelve Apostles, we hopped back in to the XTrail and headed back up to Melbourne. It was about a 3 hour drive back through several small towns. The visitor center at the Twelve Apostles noted that the scenic coastal road route we had arrived on was about a 5 hr and 15 minute drive back to Melbourne. Thankfully, the in land road was much straighter and slightly quicker.

We arrived back in Melbourne at about 8:30 PM after gassing up the car at a highway rest stop. It was 56 litres of gas for $76 AUD for the day’s driving. Unfortunately, I managed to get a photo radar ticket on the drive back by doing 106 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. I didn’t get the notice in the mail until about 60 days later after they tracked me down in Canada. I paid the $200 AUD ticket with the knowledge that if I ever rent a car in Australia again, I will make sure the cruise is set exactly at the speed limit. Despite that, after all efforts, I managed to avoid the Hertz $38 AUD toll fee.

Once we were back in Melbourne, we dropped the car at the hotel and headed out into the CBD to the Melbourne Emporium mall to collect a Katmandu puffy down jacket for MrsWT73 since it was on a 50% off sale. I also ended up picking up $249 rain jacket for $99 AUD; a great deal.

We hadn’t eaten dinner but we headed to the Rooftop Bar at the Cumberland House for a final rooftop blood red gin and tonic along with all the kids since it was Friday night. We were lucky enough to get a seat.







We had another slice of pizza at Rossili on the way home to pack for our trip up to the Great Barrier Reef. Overall we had a very nice time in Melbourne. It’s the kind of place that would be great to be on “expense” pay for by a generous employer. There are lots of restaurants, bars and great shopping to experience when you’re down here. MrsWT73 described Melbourne as a cross between Dallas Forth Worth for the freeways, Signapore for the shopping and New York City for grit. In sum, a pleasant visit and a nice place to get over some jet lag while in comfortable surroundings…

worldtraveller73

Qantas Airlines Business Lounge
Melbourne, Australia

We were up at 4:45 AM for our flight to Hamilton Island. I rung up the hotel valet to get the car (allow twenty minutes please they say). It was early but I’ve given up on rushing to airports in strange places and freaking out about having things go wrong, which is always worse in a foreign country.

We self drove ourselves, avoiding tolls, to the Melbourne airport. A Hertz roving agent accepted the return on our car and closed out our contract.

We walked in through the cold nine degree weather into the dedicated Qantas Terminal (Terminal One). We checked our bags. Strangely enough, liquids are permitted through the passenger Australian airport security check points so I just carried on my Coldstream Estates Merlot 750 ml bottle of red wine saving potential disaster from smashed red wine bottles in checked luggage.









We wandered to the large Qantas Lounge “Precinct” and eventually up to the Qantas Business Lounge, which was immediately behind security. Qantas has tiered lounges, offering a “Qantas Club” for credit card holders and club members, and a Qantas Business Lounge for those in paid business class. We visited the Qantas Business Lounge; which seemed to have the better placement of the two with bright windows and views of the apron.









There was also a chart, featuring all the aboriginal groups across Australia. We found these displayed prominently in most of the Qantas lounges across Australia.



It was dark outside and inside when we arrived at about 7 AM. The lounge was empty but filled up quite considerably by the time we departed. The lounge had lots of space, along with nice window views over the apron.





















As always, Qantas offers great food and beverage in their lounges. A full breakfast was on offer, including scrambled eggs, panini’s salads, yoghurts. Rounding out the experience, as is the norm in the Trans Tasman lounges are freshly made barista made coffee.







I also picked up a Business Traveler, a Pacific Islander Magazine and a Australian Weekend newspaper.

I still think this is entertaining: “Thanks for your patience”. LOL.



We settled into some loungers by the window as the day broke and we had an hour before our flight to get fed. There was enough food in here to replace a meal and we didn’t feel the need to get any more food from the concourse prior to our flight, despite not having been able to take breakfast at the hotel before we left for the airport. We were able to catch a glance of the retro livery Qantas plane at the domestic gates just outside.



We headed down at T-35 minutes to Gate 6, which was a short 5 minute walk away from the lounge. Not many people do rolling suitcases in Australia and we ended up having to take an elevator down a flight instead of shelpping our bags down a flight of stairs (in lieu of an escalator set up) to the Qantas departures concourse.



All in all, a solid domestic lounge offering. Qantas remains among my favourite lounges in the world for their pleasant environment, substantial food and wine bars after 12 PM.

worldtraveller73

Qantas Airlines
QF 870 – Business Class (U)
MEL-HTI (Melbourne International Terminal - Hamilton Island )
July 7, 2019
8:25 AM – 11:25 AM
Booked: Boeing 737-800
Flown: Boeing 737-800

We were fortunate enough to get award space on this flight. Hamilton Island was previously downgraded from Qantas to JetStar and other LCC carriers until Qantas announced a return to the route in 2014. The flight only travels 3 times a week with a business class cabin of only 3 rows of business; making available inventory even more scarce. Nevertheless, when I checked for reward availability, there it was. We were able to build this flight into our trip free of charge courtesy of Alaska Airline’s free domestic stopover on international awards.

When we arrived to the gate at T-30, five minutes in advance of the posted boarding time, boarding had already started and the gate area was completely empty. We walked on board without lining up.



Qantas Business offered a 2-2 configuration across 3 rows of business. The load was a full 12/12 occupied today. Some unoccupied seats across the aisle, along with our seats on the left side of the aircraft.









A pre departure beverage of sparking or still water was offered. There was also the same thinned down version of the in flight seatback entertainment system from our A380 experience that was a bit clunky to navigate.









We headed out on time, along with the usual great airplane spotting opportunities in Australia.





We had some green views of Melbourne’s suburbs on the climb out.



Once airborne, a breakfast brunch was offered. Today’s offering was an egg white omelet with bacon and tomatoes with spinach or a breakfast quiche with spinach and tomatoes. I had this the quiche with sparkling wine and a coffee which came around afterwards.



After the breakfast service, we didn’t have much happening on the flight. The crew came around with macarons afterwards, which we paired with more sparkling wine.



We had a very pretty descent into the Hamilton Island airport. The islands and coast line were really picturesque and was a beautiful setting to start and otherwise peaceful holiday.











And the final approach shot with Qualia resort in the background on the right hand side.



We arrived at Hamilton Island and had a non gate position. There don’t appear to be any gates here. I was able to snap a MrsWT73 “bored millionaire shot” and a few others before getting spoken sternly to by the ramp agents.







All in all, Qantas Business is probably the most comfortable way to get to and from Hamilton Island. The service is great, if not predictable. The in light entertainment is just okay, and you'd likely run out of things to look at if you were traveling all the way across Australia on a regular basis. The terrific Qantas lounges along the way add to the experience.

worldtraveller73

Qualia
Leeward Pavilion
Hamilton Island, Australia

The original plan for our trip was for a three day stay on Hamilton Island, followed by a three day, two night tour around the Whitsunday Islands on a small group sailing catamaran. We had booked the group trip through Sailing Whitsundays, an online travel agency for many boats operating out of Airlie Beach. I had picked them after a little research on Trip Advisor and generally favourable travel reviews.

On arrival in Hamilton Island, I received an email indicating that our tour on Whitsunday Blue, which was to start in 3 days, had been cancelled. There was a request to contact the agent. I didn’t know if similar to airlines, we were going to be automatically re-booked on a different boat or what the contingency arrangements were.

We contacted the agent and we were told that the trip had been cancelled thanks to low occupancy. It turns out we were the only ones booked on the trip and the departure was “not guaranteed”. Of course, this was not advertised on the website and fact this was silently absent. Since there were no other boats departing that day, we were asked to move to a day earlier, or later. We were in pre-paid accommodation at Qualia so we were unable to move dates without giving up expensive accomodation. The best that Sailing Whitsunday’s could do would re-contact boat operator and would get back to us by the next business day.

Ultimately, the whole thing ended up cancelled “with our apologies” and a full refund. As a result, we then had to find last minute accommodation for the two nights that we were supposed to be on the boat. As luck would have it, Hamilton Island accommodation was completely full thanks to school holidays break. After some careful deliberation, we ended up one additional night at Qualia at regular price, and we moved our departing flight with Virgin Australia up one day and departed one day earlier to take in additional time on the Gold Coast. The only funny part to this whole thing was that we now had 4 bottles of wine with us initially intended for the boat, that now needed to be enjoyed.

Ultimately, it was a major headache for this part of the trip as it took several hours to research alternate arrangements while we were at Qualia. Sailing Whitsundays’ was very polite to deal with, but like any online travel agency, they conveniently get to blame the boat operator while they walk away from the whole thing. Unfortunately, there was no option to book direct with the boat operator. If you plan on booking a boat tour through them, I would recommend having a back up plan as a safety measure.

I had booked our accommodations at Qualia direct through their website. Although they are a member of the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program, I could not find any availability through their program or Amex booking website. I doubt that this was because they were full, as the hotel featured several extended stay discounts (25%) and various promotions. We had considered staying at the newly re-furbished Hayman Island which was now operating under the InterContinental Flag, but were ultimately put off by the extended transfer fee $600 USD+ per person, and the difficulties of getting off the island for local area excursions.

After we landed, we were met at the Hamilton Airport by representatives with cold towels and water. As was custom, I provided the Qantas luggage claim slip to the staff and they took care of collecting the bags on our behalf.



We were immediately led to an awaiting van and escorted the 5 minutes up the road to qualia with a brief description of the resort on the way. The driver kept in touch with the main team using a secret service wireless earpiece almost the whole way. We passed by the Hamilton Island Reef view hotel which was probably a good idea in the nineteen eighties but looks pretty out of place given the natural beauty of this place.



On arrival at the main building entitled “the long pavilion” we were met with waiting glasses of Charles Heindseick champagne or fruit juice. MrsWT73, the champagne lover, opted for the champagne while we completed a seated check in on the lobby couches. In an impressive move, the resort offered top ups’ on the champagne while we were processing the check in. It was early and our room wasn’t quite ready so MrsWT73 had 3; which left her quite impressed. How could you not be impressed with open air views like this on arrival…











After presentation of our driver’s licence’s (for both of us) were assigned our golf buggy (#44) and given a brief demonstration on how to drive it. We drove to our assigned Villa #46 (following a host). We were given an introduction to the villa, and explained that there would be turn down service between 6-9 PM.





There hasn’t been much written about the Leila Pavilion (base room) villas but they are very comfortable. They have a large living room with a couch and two loungers. The color palette isn’t my style but it certainly fit with the look.















Being that it was MrsWT73’s birthday week, the hotel was kind enough to provide a bottle of champagne for the room (arranged in advance). This was in addition to a welcome bottle of wine and an appetizer tray, which appears to be the custom.



The washroom were absolutely humungous and featured a separate stand up shower in addition to an oversized bathtub. The toiletries were Aesop branded and replenished daily.









The room had a substantial mini bar. Our accommodation plan had free unlimited nonalcoholic drinks, meaning that everything that didn’t have alcohol in the minibar was free. This included the super tasty Cape Grimm “rainwater from Tazmania” bottled water that would be served at breakfast. I couldn’t get enough of this stuff and it was gone by the end of every night we stayed. The room also featured a proper icemaker for self catered beverages. This was especially handy except for the fact we had those 4 bottles of wine (laughing).





There was a small desk in the corner which didn’t have a view. It was mostly a drop point for charging of devices and laptops.



My first impression of the view from the room wasn’t all to spectacular. It turns out it was against a slope that had suffered cyclone damage and was undergoing re-growth. The inlet we were overlooking was also muddy thanks to being at low tide. It filled up in the early morning and made things much more scenic and picturesque to look at. There is a robust deck and two loungers along with a table and chairs.





The room views of the inlet at low tide and the cyclone damaged slope.





Every night at turndown service, the hotel set up a beaker of heated aromatherapy scented liquid. Upon seeing it for the first time, like the true C-Suite executive she is, MrsWT73 commented “What waste of resources”. However, I really enjoyed the smell and it wasn’t something I would have spent time setting up at home in our otherwise busy lives.

Breakfast was served every day was in the Long Pavilion. The breakfast was served with mixed fruits and an eye opener smoothie. The breakfast was made to order with smaller items available from the buffet. The buffet items consisted of cold cut and cured meats, artisan cheeses, shaved coconut, raisins dates, and apricot chunks. There was an emphasis on organic and all the food was exceptionally fresh. The main items were incredibly varied ranging from the Australian breakfast consisting of eggs, roasted tomatoes, field mushrooms, sourdough toast and sautéed spinach (absolutely massive). Other dates I had smoked salmon eggs benedict, heirloom tomato avocado smash with feta cheese, mint and balsamic. The food was of excellent quality.







“Eggs benedict with smoked salmon”



“Croque monsieur”



“The Australian”

In summary, a four day stay was a most excellent and relaxing vacation. I have been fortunate enough to stay at many hotels around the world and this one was clearly in the top 3 stays of my lifetime. The only negatives aren’t related to the hotel, but rather that there is no immediately accessible sandy beach from the hotel property.

worldtraveller73

Qualia,
Hamilton Island

On our arrival day, we wandered down to Pebble Beach to relax for the rest of the afternoon. We also spend our second day down here thanks to another mix up with the booked tours. The site is protected from wind with a northern (sunny) exposure. It was pretty much deserted down here throughout the stay, making for a very private experience.



Yep, this will work...









[

The pool area is in a cove called Pebble Beach. The beach itself was quite rocky and impossible to walk on without sandals or shoes as it was very stony.











There were lots of interesting things to see on the beach. I don't often get to see brain coral washed up on shore.







We had sunset at One Tree Hill. Instead of opting for drinks from the One Tree Hill bar, we self catered with the leftover wine which appeared to be the thing to do. I don’t know if this was against the local liquor laws (probably), but it was a fact of everyone doing in and setting up a picnic with a bottle of wine. We certainly weren’t the only ones and all the attendees were very respectful in collecting their trash and taking it home with them.

We headed down to the Hamilton Island IGA, where there was a massive parking lot of golf carts. Having the included Qualia golf car was a super handy way of getting around and it added a lot of fun to the holiday. Liquor is sold on the island and the mark ups’ weren’t all too bad for regular bottles of wine. If you wanted champagne however, that was another story and you’d definitely be poorer for not bringing some from home.



After IGA, it was back up to One Tree Hill. There is a small bar here, but everyone appears to bring their own sundowner drinks. There are even picnic tables set up outside for this.















It was bizarre having sundowners with Wallabies (baby kangaroos) starting to graze around you; watching cautiously as they maneuvered closer and closer while grazing. This was one of my most unique and special memories of Hamilton Island, and certainly one of the more stranger creatures around during a sundowner cocktail for us Canadian’s.







The sunsets up here were nothing short of beautiful.











An absolutely gorgeous corner of the world...

worldtraveller73

That's a great question wtcmor. I've come to form the opinion that first class is different wherever you are in the world. In Europe (Lufthansa), its almost too upper crust, in Asia (Cathay and Asiana) they leave you completely alone unless you ask and they are right there within seconds, whereas with Emirates it's all over the map thanks to the crew. Qantas seems to strike a nice balance of great wines, heaps of personal space and great lounges. I particularly enjoyed it thanks to the personal space and the fact that it's unpretentious.

Thanks BNEFlyer. I think I'm referring to the bus from Melbourne Airport that drops you off in town. It will indeed be a long wait for that train!!

Thanks 757. The food on Qantas First was very good, but I wouldn't have considered it to be excellent.

I think I was Guvner.. one day, The airports in Melbourne (Avalon and the main Melbourne airport) are indeed quite a ways from town.

I didn't end up using the e-gates Mwenenzi as I'm a simple nostalgic buff and would queue any day for a passport stamp. I used the e-gates the last time I entered New Zealand and regretted not getting a stamp. My you, this is a take on personal travel. If it was a business trip, I might have a different perspective on it.

Thanks again nequine. It's easier to get a car at LAX than being cooped up at the hotel near the airport.

It was pretty spectacular view of Melbourne up there...

Thank you very much Dover2Golf. I would imagine it would appear quite different if you were in Melbourne exclusively for work.

I believe that is accurate Taker Park. Either way, it is an interesting statement.

nequine

Lovely few parts from you there and enjoying the trip down memory lane.

Chandon and Yering Station are good wineries - we've done 2 wine tours in the Yarra Valley with Aussie Wine Tour Co so that you can enjoy the wines without worrying that you are over the limit (they do 4 wineries and lunch at one is included). They finish off the day at the Chandon winery and the bubbles are quite nice you get served with your cheese plate.

We've done the Great Ocean Road three times now (driven twice which is better than a tour so you can stop where you want) and its one hell of a fantastic beautiful drive! ♥ We stopped at Cape Otway too once but I baulked at paying the cost so stayed in the car and snoozed while OH paid - and you do have to watch out for the wildlife on driving to it, I nearly ran over a koala that was on the road rather than a tree!

If you end up back in Melbourne again, ignore the bit about the Hertz charge for the tolls and pay it yourself directly - I think I was about $15 compared to the $30+ they were going to charge me after the Sat Nav took us along a stretch of toll road to get us to Ikon Park.

Hamilton Island looks spectacular! We've done the Great Barrier Reef when we were briefly in Cairns but you've given me inspiration to check it out for our next trip back to Australia.

stevie

Thanks for the TR , my family two boys will spend 4 days in hamilton next year at the reef hotel. So am really interested in the island and what activities there are.
Thos signs for sharks and jellyfish slightly concerning.

janehoya

Thanks for taking the time to post this great TR. Yours are always some of my favorites.

Flavio1990

Hammo is not a bad place to spend a few days. There is not a huge amount to do on the island and the trips to Whitehaven are a bit expensive. A walk up to the peak is well worth it, in between the rain as are other bush walks around the island. If they play golf a round on Dent Island is a must, most spectacular course but be prepared to lose some balls. Also take your own booze as it is a tad expensive. We ordered a case of wine from Vinomofo and had it delivered to the island post office

The peak in between rain squalls

One of the many amazing holes