After our Whitsundays experience my parents were glad to be back on solid land and had arranged for a day of luxury on Hamilton island before flying up to Cairns the following day. Me, well no such luck, flying - I don't think so - it was another overnight bus for me! But I did go over and spend the day with them on Hamilton island so I could at least pretend I knew what luxury was!

We took the ferry over and got our customary daily wetting as we dashed for the ferry, but thankfully the crossing was fairly calm. When we got there we found my M&D had been upgraded from their original hotel to one of the best on the island (not that anywhere looks too shabby over there!), but they couldn't check in straight away so we headed off to explore.

The island has a great free bus network that takes you all around, each one in a different direction. It's a good way to see the island at a glance and just hop on and off between the showers! One of the best spots on the island is One Tree Hill where you get a 360 degree panoramic view of the whole island. But if you don't fancy the bus and have some money to spare the main way to get around seems to be on golf buggies - everyone has one. They're not cheap though at $80 a day - that's about 35 good old English pounds.

When we eventually checked into the hotel the room had a view to die for. Up on the 8th floor, which was only about half way up, the view out over the beach and to adjacent islands was just perfect. They had the biggest balcony you can imagine and we spent the next few hours just relaxing there with a drink taking it all in...

But all too soon it was time for me to get back on the ferry and head back to the mainland to catch my overnight bus. M&D of course were looking forward to their chinese banquet, while I had to make do with a few crisps and a bottle of water on the bus - bless!