Travel-Australia, Hamilton Island

Scattered off the coast of Queensland, Australia lies some of the most beautiful islands in the world – the Whitsundays.  One of these islands and the largest is Hamilton Island, this is where my family and I stayed over a wonderful weekend in August.  Ironically, an annual festival happened to fall just perfectly on this weekend – the Hamilton Island Race Week yachting festival!  During this festival, more than 150 yachts from across Australia and New Zealand gather with their sailing fleet for a week of races around the Whitsunday islands.  Lucky for us, we got to be a part of this special time on Hamilton Island and witness some of the yachts in action.

The view from our hotel room – Hamilton Island’s Reef View Hotel

Having lunch next to the marina, while overlooking the cute shops along the water.  A visitor decided to stop by and join us; we saw some beautiful birds on Hamilton.

This colorful little guy even let my dad feel him an ice cream cone by hand.

One of the sailing teams preparing their boat for the races.

Taking the ferry across to the mainland, we were able to take some pictures while leaving Hamilton Island.

Arriving back to the beach for our last day on Hamilton Island, we watched all the sailboats lining up in the distance.

My mom collecting some shells along the beach with the sailboats in the background preparing for their next race.

And of course I had to get a SHOE SIGHT shot!

Hamilton Island is a jump-off point for seeing the Great Barrier Reef…which I will posting about next Thursday in Travel Thursdays post!  Thanks for sharing in our adventures!