HAYMAN ISLAND - THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
An absolute heaven on earth..
When we booked to go to Australia in 2019, we decided that it would be a trip of a lifetime. We budgeted and planned a few locations that reflected my childhood spent there but also we wanted to venture off a bit to show our 2 year old daughter some more of the unbelievable locations that Australia has to offer.
Unsurprisingly Hayman was recommended to us (you can see why!) but the question was whether we could afford it.
We got a good deal and we saved our pennies and we were so excited to book our trip there. Leaving Sydney, having had a wonderful few days with friends, we headed North towards the Great Barrier Reef.
We felt like we were sharing paradise with our little girl and we were not wrong.
Sailing away..
It’s safe to say everyone was pretty excited as we sailed off towards the island, our home for the next 4 days..
When we arrived at the island we were met by staff who took us on the golf buggies and whizzed us off towards the hotel. The island was introduced to us, its history, its animals and what we had to expect in the coming days.
Our room was a standard room, we created a little nook for Freya in the space between our bed and the very spacious bathroom, it seems like a dressing room area anyway and we are thrilled with the amount of space.
The hotel staff were incredibly friendly to both of us ands Freya, they could tell how excited we were to be there and they treated us wonderfully.
The hotel is adorned with free water fountains to provide you will fresh filtered and chilled water, using your free reusable water bottles. Freya thought that this was just the best!
The pool surrounded you everywhere you went. Each journey out of the room was a potential for adventure and if you didn’t bump into a tropical animal, then you were likely to do so at lunch or at the bar.
The locals
They may look impressive but you definitely don’t want to encourage them. Give them. crumb and they’ll take your whole meal!
Freya was in absolute heaven! Don’t get me wrong she has similarly been in heaven on the beach in Wales and swimming in the local pool back home but you can’t deny the appeal of blue seas, wildlife, endless swimming opportunity and also lots and lots of sand. It was so special to share this with our daughter and in another life we would do it again with our son..who knows..
The path ways that link up the hotel run through the trees and the various accommodation. The beach has complimentary water sports equipment that you can use and we took advantage of that.
There were a lot of options for additional water sports or excursions, unfortunately most were very expensive and not in our budget, but we were able to spend an afternoon on the paddle boards, where Freya & I spotted turtles swimming alongside us, which was so exciting and Lukasz revisited his old Navy skills and jumped onboard a chopper for a few hours.
Hayman Island
The staff on the island were so accommodating and on our last day we were able to take an afternoon trip out to a small ‘island’ (it would be gone as of 16.30 due to the tide). We took a picnic and Lukasz went off to swim with the rays. Freya and I sat and ate sandwiches, made for us by the kitchen, and collected shells. A core memory for us all.
Off on an adventure..
Picnics and lollypops, happy kid, happy parents..
After our 4 days on Hayman, we were sad to go of course but we also knew that all good things must come to an end and we were just thrilled with our experience there.
The hotel was magnificent, the setting of course was within comparison. But also the people added so much to what we experienced there. They were always there to lend a hand, offer advice or try to make our experience that bit better.
Eating with kids on the island was painless. The breakfast buffet was a feast for all the senses and Freya was in seventh heaven. We filled up for the day and waited out for dinner.
Drinks were quite expensive so we didn’t go overboard (excuse the pun) on our daily consumption but we actually didn’t mind as it helped towards an overall feeling of restfulness and wellbeing when we left.
There is a free kids club as part of the resort too and Freya enjoyed an afternoon there one day whilst lukasz and I went to their insane gym. Definitely not to be missed if you like that sort of thing.
If you are ever fortunate enough to visit this magical place, I wish you well and I hope that it brings you as much joy as it did us.