Great Barrier Reef comes alive
Taking their cue from the eponymous clownfish and blue tang from the Disney Pixar movies Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, the residents of the Whitsunday Islands section of the Great Barrier Reef are going about their business, unfussed about coral bleaching. The reef here is ‘‘superhealthy’’, according to Josh Harrington, operations manager with reef tour operator Explore Hamilton Island.
The ‘‘super healthy’’ description comes from Reef Check Australia, and is backed by a recent report from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
The authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science concluded there is no discernible bleaching in the Whitsundays. The report says that while there is a problem to the north around Cairns, there has been no coral loss on the outer reefs of the Whitsundays.
‘‘A lot of people get in the water expecting to see a dead reef and are surprised when they see a healthy environment,’’ Harrington says. ‘‘It doesn’t look dead, they say, shocked. Others find a small damaged patch and leap to the wrong conclusion. There has always been natural loss and regeneration.’’
Explore Hamilton Island is also part of the ‘‘Eye on the Reef’’ initiative for the authority. The program is open to anyone from marine scientists to day-trippers who want to help the reef by reporting what they’ve seen. And there’s an app for that. We are asked to keep our eyes open for various things as we dive and snorkel around Bait Reef, which Harrington describes as a 12 out of 10 experience. And he’s right.
We spend the day aboard Explore’s 24-metre catamaran Reef Explorer, and while most are happy to snorkel, there is also a SCUBA option that first-timers can join after a brief introduction.
From the moment we hit the water, the majesty is apparent. Monumental coral formations stand like Frank Gehry-designed residential estates for fish, turtles, sharks and rays.
Anemones replete with Nemos sway in the current like windblown grass, vertical drop-offs plunge into murky depths where reef sharks are silhouetted far below, shoals of blue bait fish change direction as one, a massed meal for prowling trevallies and other predators.
Maori wrasse – big green fish with blue lips that Harrington describes as the puppy dogs of the reef – and giant trevallies, aka GTs, ‘‘fly’’ around us at high speed. A sea turtle languidly patrols its domain and watches us for a few minutes before a swish of flippers sends it scurrying off, scattering a school of yellow-tailed fusiliers.
This spectacular five-star reef encounter is matched star for star by Hamilton Island’s premier resort, Qualia, which is also in pristine condition. Situated on the northern tip of the island, Qualia is the primo accommodation on the island. It has regularly featured in hot lists of Australia’s finest resorts since its 2007 rebuild, the pinnacle of which was being named Best Resort in the World in the 2012 Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.
It’s luxe all the way at Qualia. Forget waiting at the baggage carousel at the airport.
The next time you see your suitcase will be in your selfcontained, stand-alone bungalow, which are – not unreasonably – called pavilions.
The friendly, seamless check-in is lubricated by a glass – or two - of very good sparkling wine in Long Pavilion, overlooking the sapphire Whitsunday Passage and adjacent khaki islands.
Matt checks us in and is the third staffer in the past 20 minutes to pretend to complain about the weather and the view. It’s an endearing shtick. Matt tops up our flutes and talks us through the resort’s layout, activities, spa and restaurants, as well as what we can do on the rest of the island.
Each pavilion comes with a personal golf cart, a must to negotiate the hilly, sprawling resort. You can drive your cart down to the marina and shops too, where you’ll find everyone has one; their simple, one-paced traction a metaphor for the easygoing nature of the island. Qualia runs a free shuttle service around the island too.
Long Pavilion doubles as Qualia’s signature restaurant and provides a sumptuous, modern Australian fine-dining encounter. Four, six or eight course tasting menus are available in addition to a la carte and we enjoy a superb degustation and ideally paired wines. The sashimi is the standout – a brilliant concoction of tuna and uni with pine mushroom and egg yolk, plated up inside a hollowed out Tasmanian sea urchin and paired with Asahi Dassai 39 Junmai Daiginjo sake.
You can expect more gastronomic delights at Pebble Beach, Qualia’s more casual dining option. Lavish hot and cold seafood platters for two at lunch, a prime sirloin with truffled potatoes and onion rings for dinner. And so it goes. The a la carte breakfast menu is also excellent.
A sanctuary within a sanctuary, Spa Qualia bestows an additional layer of luxe. The treatments capture the natural and indigenous heritage of the surrounds. ‘‘Signature Ceremonies’’ include the Heart Reef Ritual, Kumali Ritual and White Haven – named for the snow-coloured (not bleached) Whitehaven Beach on nearby Whitsunday Island.
Bob Oatley, who passed away this year and who drove the renovation of Hamilton Island – and built Qualia from the ground up – must be looking down from his heaven to this one, satisfied with a job well done. Traveller ❚ Mal Chenu was a guest of Qualia and Qantas.