Meet The Sundays, Hamilton Island’s Sumptuous New Stay
The working week never arrives at The Sundays, a new sun-soaked sanctuary in The Whitsundays that comes with a dollop of fun for the whole family.
Islands erupt from the sea in every direction, lustrous emerald slopes rising dramatically towards rocky peaks wreathed in mist. “It looks like Canada,” says one fellow walker. “Or Hawaii,” offers another. But when the sun comes out and turns the Coral Sea a brilliant turquoise, the view from Passage Peak is quintessential Queensland. In the cooler months, Hamilton Island’s highest point is an ideal spot to watch thousands of humpback whales that spend several weeks swimming up from Sydney before giving birth among the fringing reefs of The Whitsundays. The same journey takes me just two-and-a-half hours and within minutes of landing, I’m relaxing beside a pool ringed by palm trees and sage-green umbrellas. On a hill behind me is The Sundays, a new $35-million development on the site of Hamilton Island’s first-ever resort. All 59 suites feature a balcony or terrace looking out over beach and rainforest, while interiors decorated with sandy tones and blond timber enhance the relaxed beachside feel (as do the plentiful hooks to hang bathing gear). Even the striking modern artworks by First Nations and Hungarian artist Tiarna Herczeg can’t pull focus from the views of this idyllic tropical island and a sliding screen in the bathroom means I can even admire them from the deep-soaking tub. Look a little further and you’ll also find kid-friendly touches to keep the whole family happy, from the spacious deck overlooking the pool that hosts both sunrise yoga and moonlight movies to the “mermoney” – shiny gold coins that appear in the room every day and can be redeemed at the poolside ice-cream cart.
“Hamilton Island is a special place so when you’re here we want you to eat the best that Australia has to offer,” says acclaimed chef Josh Niland of his new island eatery, Catseye Pool Club. More relaxed than his upscale fish-first Sydney fine-diner Saint Peter, the restaurant is headed by Niland and his wife, Julie, with reservations open to The Sundays guests before the general public. Deconstructed pizzas are typical of the elevated but unfussy family-style dining. A plate piled with fluffy discs of dough is surrounded by bowls of fresh buttermilk ricotta, traffic light-coloured charred habañeros, finely sliced charcuterie and barbecued tomato vinegar with blistered tomato and caperberries. With everyone free to choose their own toppings, there’s no need to argue about what to order. White corn tortillas arrive ready to be stuffed with nuggets of crispy red emperor, zesty bush tomato pico de gallo and pineapple salsa.
While Niland says seafood will always be a strong element of the menu – “It’s what I’m good at and you can throw a rock at the beach from where we’re sitting” – he adds that “it’s fun to show people I can cook meat as well”. Main proteins are also served family-style so a perfectly cooked rib eye is surrounded by saucer-sized roast portobello mushrooms, crisp salt and vinegar onion rings, black garlic béarnaise and zingy chumichurri. The servings are so generous that I have to wait until the next day before I can try the equally crowd-pleasing desserts. It turns out that’s a good thing, because the signature Neapolitan sundae, featuring half-scoops of rich Daintree chocolate, Bloomfield vanilla and Queensland strawberry ice-cream on a bed of crunchy macadamia seems made to be enjoyed by the pool in the afternoon sun.
With more than 20 dining options, half-a-dozen beaches and plenty of walking trails that disappear into the lush interior, Hamilton Island has enough attractions to keep me busy for weeks. But it’s also a jumping-off point to explore the rest of the archipelago.
I join Ngaro man Robbie Congoo on a Cultural Island Discovery tour of nearby Hook Island. Standing beside a cave filled with paintings of fishing nets and shield designs, he tells me it’s been used by the Ngaro people for almost 10,000 years. Back then, the inlet below was still above water and this was part of the mainland. “So a lot of our stories date back to before the formation of the Great Barrier Reef, which was created from the scales of the Rainbow Serpent,” he explains. “This place is beautiful but that’s not the only reason it’s important – I want to teach people some of the culture and history.”
When viewed from a helicopter on the Journey to the Heart tour, there’s a hint of Jurassic Park to the densely forested slopes that rise from Whitsunday Island’s rocky western shore. Even more eye-catching are the mesmerising patterns created by the swirling sands of Hill Inlet, which lies next to the dazzling bleached-white arc of Whitehaven Beach. But our destination lies 10 minutes further east, where the azure Coral Sea gives way to a pointillist canvas of reef outcrops surrounded by water so serenely blue it looks unreal. After landing on a pontoon beside the eye-catching Heart Reef, we swim through forests of staghorn and brain coral, enjoying the privacy of a lagoon reserved solely for our group of six. However, we are not alone: schools of bluestriped snapper, gangs of rainbow-hued parrotfish and giant clams decorated with constellations of ultramarine, bright green and electric purple spots reveal themselves just under the surface.
Hopping out of the water, I raise a toast to my new friends with a glass of chilled Charles Heidsieck, wishing that Monday never had to come.
