August 29, 2025 • 10 mins
"Bobbing about on my bucket list for far too long, I’ve finally just enjoyed my first foray to heart-stealing Hamilton Island. Glamourous and gorgeous in equal measure this holiday jewel in the Whitsundays archipelago completely smashed my expectations. With an embarrassing surfeit of island vacay options in Queensland, I had assumed Hamilton Island, or Hamo as the locals call it, might just be another pleasant dime-a-dozen speck of palm-fringed sand, edging warm ocean water.
"But Hamo is so much more."
Read Mike's full article here.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
At be Mike Yardley is our travel correspondent. He's here
with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Hey Mike, good morning Jack.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I think I've discovered the definition of when spring starts.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Ah and daffidels in Hagley Park.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
That's a good one.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Even worse than that, and ever present in Christis at
the moment the pollen bomb. The bomb strikes the city.
So there are so many cars around at the moment
with like this film of yellow dusty all over the windscreen.
So I think that's the sign of spring.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, I think it's also in our house. It's just
when my when my wife like can't sleep because her
hay fever is so overwhelming, Like it's about this time
of year it really starts to kick in as well,
and she's on all of the you know, all of
the hay fever. Yeah, but yeah, I know that. And
the thing with the pollen bomb is like it's quite stainy. Hey,
(01:05):
it's quite simple. It really is a year off your car,
off your clothes or anything else. Yeah, that's a very
nice Yeah, thank you. Hey, we're talking Hamilton Island in
the Sundays this morning. And Hamilton Island is unique in that,
isn't it family owned?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
It is.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
And if you've ever fancied having a bit of a
devil in the Wit Sundays, I'd highly recommend it. I
have just knocked it off my bucket list. It's been
bobbing on it for quite a while. And Hamilton Island
is quite unique because it's owned by the Oatly family.
They made their fortune and wine. They're still quite a
big player in the Aussie wine industry. But it's extraordinary.
(01:43):
They bought it twenty years ago for two hundred million dollars.
Would you like an island today? Yes, here's two hundred
million dollars. They've spent as you do. They've spent half
a billion dollars on its developments, so it's got all
the tropical island resort feels and it's a very catering,
embracing sort of place. So there's accommodation there to suit
(02:05):
all budgets.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Nice. Is it the best island to stay at if
you're in the Wit Sundays?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I think so, Jack.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yeah, there's only a few of the Whitsunday islands that
are inhabited so Hemo as the locals call it. I
think is a really good base because there are so
many excursion options from Hamilton Island and it's only a
nineteen minute direct flight onto the island from Brisbane, and
(02:32):
that in itself is such a stunning visual experience as Yeah,
you know, on final approach into the Wit Sundays and
you see all of those islands just fanning out into
the Coral Sea. That is just stunning. The other really
cool thing is it's amazing here you will be mixing with.
So there are a lists lebs on Hamilton Island, lots
(02:52):
of some loving families, lots of loved up couples as
you would well expect, and it's interesting a lot of
people go for different reasons. Some just go to look
at the candy floss sunsets, some go for the amazing
culinary scene on Hamilton Island. Then you've got the day
spars for the likes of Jack tame Um, and of
course you've got the Barrier Reef and all of its
(03:14):
wondrous underwater encounters.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So where did you do the snorkeling on the reef?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah, I went to Hardy Reef, which is part of
the Great barriers Outer Reef, So it was about forty
nautical miles east of Hamilton Island and you really do
feel like you're venturing out for a big day trip.
I went with a company called Cruise whit Sundays and
they have got this extraordinary pontoon at Hardy Reef. It's
(03:43):
sort of like a sundeck, a chopper pad and an
underwater observatory all in one structure. It's just incredible. And
of course the water there is like liquid cellophane. So
after you've had your snorkel and a bit of time
with the fish and the coral, another awesome option is
(04:04):
to take to the sky in a helicop from that reef,
Hardy Reef. And what a lot of people love to
go and do is see from above Heart Reef. And
I'm sure you've seen Heart Reef on Instagram. It's one
of those little winds to superstars because it is shaped
like a love heart. So you can do that just
(04:24):
on a ten minute chop a ride from Hardy Reef.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Oh nice. So what about white Haven Beach?
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yes, a very short jaunt from Hamilton Island is to
Whitsunday Island right across the water and that's home to
white Haven Beach. It is blindingly beautiful. So imagine you've
got a seven kilometer.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
Long sweep of swirling, snowy, white, squeaky silica sand that
is white Haven Beach, and it's edged by turquoise lagoon
like water, backed by undulating rainforest.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It really is spectacular.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And this is where Johnny shot a sequence of his
last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. And of course that
it was not without incident, because this is the notorious
trip which featured the dogs Brystol and Boo.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And Barnaby Joyce.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Was it Barnaby and Barnaby Joyce.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Yes, I think I think Barnaby wanted those dogs shot. Actually,
every local I spoke to on Hamilton Island said Depp
remained in character as Captain Jack on an offset. Apparently
he was a total jerk around the clock, driving disorderly,
totally obnoxious, and he was there for six weeks Sundays.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
The most amazing thing Jack.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
The on location production on white Haven Beach cost forty
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And if you.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Watch that Pirates of the Caribbee movie, there's only thirty
seconds of footage from white Haven Beach, forty million bucks.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Thanks for coming.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That's insane, isn't it? So you should you watch Pirates
of the Caribbean before going just or just watched thirty
seconds as parts of the Caribbean. Maybe we can go
online and find out the exact minute that you see
white Haven Beach that you get a sense of it.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
The thing I can work out, Jack is like it
was obviously meant to look like the Caribbean.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
So why would they why would they go to white
Haven Beach when they're wanting to channel the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
That is weird, isn't it. There must be a reason.
There's going to be a tax. It's always again on
these big shows and big movies productions. You know. Yeah,
that's fascinating. So indigenous tourism is expanding its offerings in
the wit Sundays Ah.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yes it is, and whit Sunday Island is fully protected.
It's part of the National Park home to the Narrow
people for ten thousand years.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
It was interesting.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I had a fabulous scenari guide he was showing around
and he said that when James Cook cruised through the area,
some of the Nari were recruited by Cook as outriggers
to guide the Indeva through the barrier reef because you
know it's obviously so perilous for a ship, and opening
nearly next year, are offering a guided overnight camping trail
(07:09):
all around with Sunday Island, so it will open up
a whole lot of areas that you can't actually get
to at the moment, including the big treasure eight thousand
year old rock paintings that are preserved in the island cave.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So tell you what a nared god.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
He introduced me to this amazing spider, the golden orb
weaver spider, which you can find on this island. My god,
these things are a site. The female's jack are as
big as a dinner plate. Wow, they are enormous and
amazingly the males are just a tenth of the size
(07:48):
of the female, which is quite a biological head scratcher.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, how incredible. So are you putting you on the
spot here? How did the now do people get to
the with Sundays? Because if it's a ninety minute flight
from the mainland, that's quite a distance, right.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
If you look at a map of Northern Queensland, those
were Sundays that they sort of like fan out from
the mainland. Yeah, so obviously a bit like how Aboriginal
people supposedly came down from Papua New Guinea through the
TV Islands into Northern Australia. I would imagine a lot
of this has to do with ice age, you know,
movement of water lines.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Ah, yeah, the ocean going though.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Right, yeah, yeah, oh absolutely, can you can you see that?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Can you see the islands from the mainland.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yes, okay, yeah, definitely, definitely. It's a ninety minute flight
from Brisbane.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I Hamilton Islands.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, those a lot of those barrier reef islands, like
pre ice Age, they were actually joined to the mainland, so.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Of course, of course, yeah, and then when the sea
level rose, it came up. Yeah right, but no, I
mean if you can see the islands from the mainland,
then that makes sense. Like I'm always amazed, you know,
like you know, you think, I mean, obviously Mardi arriving
in New Zealand, but you think about Mary on the
Chat Islands, for example. Well, that's there's a little dot
in a big ocean, you know, someone someone that's a
(09:12):
I really had to cast off with clear water for
that trip. Yeah, Okay, this sounds amazing. So any other
activities you would recommend in the sundays.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Yeah, definitely jump on a catamaran for a sunset cruise, because, yeah,
there was something so cool about those with Sunday islands,
how they sort of necklace their way out into the sea,
and when the sun sets, you get this tangerine glow
across the silhouette of all of those islands, and the
wet and jacket resembles the silhouette of a giant crocodile
(09:45):
reaching out into the sea.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I just loved that.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
The other funny thing was the sunset cruise. It just
spontaneously morphed into a whale watching cruise. So we were
only like one hundred meters or so off the shoreline
of Hamilton Island and there was a pot of frisky humpbacks.
They just turned on this big, splashy show one hundred
meters off the shoreline.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, Oh that's incredible. Okay, well, I'm very envious. I
have I have done a little bit of the Barrier
reef further north up off the coast of cam Yeah,
but that does sound that sounds like a bit of
me a great little a great little spot for break
in the winter of the future. Perhaps thanks so much, Mike,
we will put all of Mike's tips for enjoying Hamilton
Island in the Sunday's Up on the News Talks EDB website.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
At be Mike Yardley is our travel correspondent. He's here
with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Hey Mike, good morning Jack.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I think I've discovered the definition of when spring starts.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Ah and daffidels in Hagley Park.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
That's a good one.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Even worse than that, and ever present in Christis at
the moment the pollen bomb. The bomb strikes the city.
So there are so many cars around at the moment
with like this film of yellow dusty all over the windscreen.
So I think that's the sign of spring.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, I think it's also in our house. It's just
when my when my wife like can't sleep because her
hay fever is so overwhelming, Like it's about this time
of year it really starts to kick in as well,
and she's on all of the you know, all of
the hay fever. Yeah, but yeah, I know that. And
the thing with the pollen bomb is like it's quite stainy. Hey,
(01:05):
it's quite simple. It really is a year off your car,
off your clothes or anything else. Yeah, that's a very
nice Yeah, thank you. Hey, we're talking Hamilton Island in
the Sundays this morning. And Hamilton Island is unique in that,
isn't it family owned?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
It is.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
And if you've ever fancied having a bit of a
devil in the Wit Sundays, I'd highly recommend it. I
have just knocked it off my bucket list. It's been
bobbing on it for quite a while. And Hamilton Island
is quite unique because it's owned by the Oatly family.
They made their fortune and wine. They're still quite a
big player in the Aussie wine industry. But it's extraordinary.
(01:43):
They bought it twenty years ago for two hundred million dollars.
Would you like an island today? Yes, here's two hundred
million dollars. They've spent as you do. They've spent half
a billion dollars on its developments, so it's got all
the tropical island resort feels and it's a very catering,
embracing sort of place. So there's accommodation there to suit
(02:05):
all budgets.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Nice. Is it the best island to stay at if
you're in the Wit Sundays?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I think so, Jack.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yeah, there's only a few of the Whitsunday islands that
are inhabited so Hemo as the locals call it. I
think is a really good base because there are so
many excursion options from Hamilton Island and it's only a
nineteen minute direct flight onto the island from Brisbane, and
(02:32):
that in itself is such a stunning visual experience as Yeah,
you know, on final approach into the Wit Sundays and
you see all of those islands just fanning out into
the Coral Sea. That is just stunning. The other really
cool thing is it's amazing here you will be mixing with.
So there are a lists lebs on Hamilton Island, lots
(02:52):
of some loving families, lots of loved up couples as
you would well expect, and it's interesting a lot of
people go for different reasons. Some just go to look
at the candy floss sunsets, some go for the amazing
culinary scene on Hamilton Island. Then you've got the day
spars for the likes of Jack tame Um, and of
course you've got the Barrier Reef and all of its
(03:14):
wondrous underwater encounters.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So where did you do the snorkeling on the reef?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah, I went to Hardy Reef, which is part of
the Great barriers Outer Reef, So it was about forty
nautical miles east of Hamilton Island and you really do
feel like you're venturing out for a big day trip.
I went with a company called Cruise whit Sundays and
they have got this extraordinary pontoon at Hardy Reef. It's
(03:43):
sort of like a sundeck, a chopper pad and an
underwater observatory all in one structure. It's just incredible. And
of course the water there is like liquid cellophane. So
after you've had your snorkel and a bit of time
with the fish and the coral, another awesome option is
(04:04):
to take to the sky in a helicop from that reef,
Hardy Reef. And what a lot of people love to
go and do is see from above Heart Reef. And
I'm sure you've seen Heart Reef on Instagram. It's one
of those little winds to superstars because it is shaped
like a love heart. So you can do that just
(04:24):
on a ten minute chop a ride from Hardy Reef.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Oh nice. So what about white Haven Beach?
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yes, a very short jaunt from Hamilton Island is to
Whitsunday Island right across the water and that's home to
white Haven Beach. It is blindingly beautiful. So imagine you've
got a seven kilometer.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
Long sweep of swirling, snowy, white, squeaky silica sand that
is white Haven Beach, and it's edged by turquoise lagoon
like water, backed by undulating rainforest.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It really is spectacular.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And this is where Johnny shot a sequence of his
last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. And of course that
it was not without incident, because this is the notorious
trip which featured the dogs Brystol and Boo.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And Barnaby Joyce.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Was it Barnaby and Barnaby Joyce.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Yes, I think I think Barnaby wanted those dogs shot. Actually,
every local I spoke to on Hamilton Island said Depp
remained in character as Captain Jack on an offset. Apparently
he was a total jerk around the clock, driving disorderly,
totally obnoxious, and he was there for six weeks Sundays.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
The most amazing thing Jack.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
The on location production on white Haven Beach cost forty
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And if you.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Watch that Pirates of the Caribbee movie, there's only thirty
seconds of footage from white Haven Beach, forty million bucks.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Thanks for coming.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That's insane, isn't it? So you should you watch Pirates
of the Caribbean before going just or just watched thirty
seconds as parts of the Caribbean. Maybe we can go
online and find out the exact minute that you see
white Haven Beach that you get a sense of it.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
The thing I can work out, Jack is like it
was obviously meant to look like the Caribbean.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
So why would they why would they go to white
Haven Beach when they're wanting to channel the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
That is weird, isn't it. There must be a reason.
There's going to be a tax. It's always again on
these big shows and big movies productions. You know. Yeah,
that's fascinating. So indigenous tourism is expanding its offerings in
the wit Sundays Ah.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yes it is, and whit Sunday Island is fully protected.
It's part of the National Park home to the Narrow
people for ten thousand years.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
It was interesting.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I had a fabulous scenari guide he was showing around
and he said that when James Cook cruised through the area,
some of the Nari were recruited by Cook as outriggers
to guide the Indeva through the barrier reef because you
know it's obviously so perilous for a ship, and opening
nearly next year, are offering a guided overnight camping trail
(07:09):
all around with Sunday Island, so it will open up
a whole lot of areas that you can't actually get
to at the moment, including the big treasure eight thousand
year old rock paintings that are preserved in the island cave.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So tell you what a nared god.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
He introduced me to this amazing spider, the golden orb
weaver spider, which you can find on this island. My god,
these things are a site. The female's jack are as
big as a dinner plate. Wow, they are enormous and
amazingly the males are just a tenth of the size
(07:48):
of the female, which is quite a biological head scratcher.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, how incredible. So are you putting you on the
spot here? How did the now do people get to
the with Sundays? Because if it's a ninety minute flight
from the mainland, that's quite a distance, right.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
If you look at a map of Northern Queensland, those
were Sundays that they sort of like fan out from
the mainland. Yeah, so obviously a bit like how Aboriginal
people supposedly came down from Papua New Guinea through the
TV Islands into Northern Australia. I would imagine a lot
of this has to do with ice age, you know,
movement of water lines.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Ah, yeah, the ocean going though.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Right, yeah, yeah, oh absolutely, can you can you see that?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Can you see the islands from the mainland.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yes, okay, yeah, definitely, definitely. It's a ninety minute flight
from Brisbane.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I Hamilton Islands.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, those a lot of those barrier reef islands, like
pre ice Age, they were actually joined to the mainland, so.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Of course, of course, yeah, and then when the sea
level rose, it came up. Yeah right, but no, I
mean if you can see the islands from the mainland,
then that makes sense. Like I'm always amazed, you know,
like you know, you think, I mean, obviously Mardi arriving
in New Zealand, but you think about Mary on the
Chat Islands, for example. Well, that's there's a little dot
in a big ocean, you know, someone someone that's a
(09:12):
I really had to cast off with clear water for
that trip. Yeah, Okay, this sounds amazing. So any other
activities you would recommend in the sundays.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Yeah, definitely jump on a catamaran for a sunset cruise, because, yeah,
there was something so cool about those with Sunday islands,
how they sort of necklace their way out into the sea,
and when the sun sets, you get this tangerine glow
across the silhouette of all of those islands, and the
wet and jacket resembles the silhouette of a giant crocodile
(09:45):
reaching out into the sea.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I just loved that.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
The other funny thing was the sunset cruise. It just
spontaneously morphed into a whale watching cruise. So we were
only like one hundred meters or so off the shoreline
of Hamilton Island and there was a pot of frisky humpbacks.
They just turned on this big, splashy show one hundred
meters off the shoreline.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, Oh that's incredible. Okay, well, I'm very envious. I
have I have done a little bit of the Barrier
reef further north up off the coast of cam Yeah,
but that does sound that sounds like a bit of
me a great little a great little spot for break
in the winter of the future. Perhaps thanks so much, Mike,
we will put all of Mike's tips for enjoying Hamilton
Island in the Sunday's Up on the News Talks EDB website.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.