Today was not only my birthday but an opportunity to cross off my bucket list one of the things I had long dreamt of doing - sailing into Hamilton Island.
The day started with re-tracing our steps out of Gulnare Inlet with Sonia intently following the track we had made on the way in.
From there it was just a short trip across Fitzalan Passage to Hamilton Island. Luckily the conditions were much better than the previous day.
Entering Hamilton Island marina is very civilised, you radio ahead and as long as you have sent them copies of your boat registration and insurance certificate they will come out and escort you in to your berth. They will not tell you your berth number in advance to prevent you from sneeking in. Luckily we were the first boat in after the allowed 11am arrival time (actually we were the second boat but the first one had not sent his insurance certificate so he had to wait.
The best way to describe Hamilton Island is a marine version of Disney Land. There are very few cars on the island and most people drive around in gold buggies. We of course hired one so we could explore the island. Just like in Disney Land there is a main street with shops, restaurants and bars.
On the way in you go past the iconic yacht club.
Birthday lunch was a platter at the pub
And pre-dinner drinks were at the Yacht Club with another sunset.
