Unfortunately, today is the day we have to leave Hamilton Island.  After a nice breakfast on the deck, we took a final spin around the island in our buggy before returning to our pavilion to pack for the trip to Sydney.

The resort made the process of leaving as easy as it was arriving.  We simply left our bags in our pavilion, they shuttled us to the airport, and we were greeted by someone else at the airline check-in desk who handed us our luggage.

It was a quick flight back to Sydney at just over 2 hours.  And that’s a good thing, because there are no top tier airlines that fly into Hamilton Island from Sydney.  Jet Star and Virgin Blue, both discount carriers, are the only options on this route.  Below is our plane, which is supposedly the better of the two options.

They’re not really a bad airline, but after being spoiled by Air New Zealand lately, the difference was clear.

Back in Sydney, the weather was beautiful and sunny, and a nice warm 25 degrees.  We got settled into the hotel, and went out in search of dinner.

Here’s the Sydney Harbour Bridge at night.  Sorry it’s a bit out of focus, but it’s the best I could do without lugging around a camera tripod.

The skies clouded in a bit today, but it was still a nice warm and breezy day.  A great day for exploring the area or just relaxing on the deck.

After breakfast, we went over to a small wildlife park on the island where we got the chance to hold a Koala.  See photo and video below!  This little guy was 5 months old.

Here is the short video clip.

We then drove around the island for a bit, checking out places we hadn’t been yet.

Shown below is the resorts’ own helipad, used for helicopter tours of the area, as well as taking people out to the Great Barrier Reef and also to shuttle people to the golf course on the island across the channel.

We stopped in town for a bite to eat.  These colourful birds, who seem to display every colour of the rainbow, are everywhere.

If you’re not careful, they’ll try to steal the food off your plate.

When we returned to our pavilion in the early afternoon, we had a big disappointment.  We were booked to go on a sunset cruise around the nearby islands this evening.  Unfortunately, they cancelled the cruise because the boat was undergoing repairs, and they would not be completed by the end of the day.  I’m unclear why they could not simply charter an alternate vessel at the wharf in town to carry out the tour.  Refunds and apologies are fine for a lesser establishment, but a resort of this calibre should do whatever is necessary to deliver results.

We then relaxed on the deck while waiting for dinner time.  As you can see from the photo below, it would have been a nice evening for our cruise!

As I was taking in the view from the deck, I was joined by the fellow shown below sitting on the railing.

After dinner we took a quick buggy ride around Hamilton Island at night.

We awoke to a slightly overcast day.  However, the clouds would be short lived and quickly made way for a very sunny day.

Each time we stepped out, we saw hundreds of these little blue butterflies in the trees around our swimming pool.  They are Ulysses butterflies

By the time we were having breakfast, the clouds had cleared.  It was a little hazy and the humidity was high.

We made a quick trip to town in the golf buggy to pick up a few provisions.  Here are the gates at the entrance to the resort as we head to town (not really a town but a main street with a few of stores).

Here’s a nice view out to the Whitsunday Islands from the road near one of the highest points on Hamilton Island.

We returned to our pavilion to relax a bit.

Here is one of the resort pools.

We arranged for a picnic lunch and drop-off at a beach on a nearby island.  Here are some photos on route to the picnic site.

This is Dent Island, which sits next to Hamilton Island, and is also the Hamilton Island Golf Club.  I’ve heard it’s a beautiful course, but it’s far too hot and humid for me to play a round.

Nadine trying not to lose her hat on the boat ride.

And here’s our picnic site waiting for us.

I went exploring through the low tide.

Back at our pavilion, we relaxed and went swimming before dinner.  Here’s a nice late afternoon view from our deck.

Later in the evening, we had a nice dinner.  Nadine even ate kangaroo!  With the help of my external camera flash and trying some different camera settings, I had a bit more luck with low light photos.

This is the entrance to the main pavilion that houses the dining area.

Here is the lounge area by the swimming pool and dining room.