Long Island: paradise on earth
Want an escape from the city life?
And another night it was aglio olio, steak served with grilled carrots and a bottle of wine.
After dinner, we usually just chill at the lounge area. Bring some boardgames, it will come in handy. Chess wasn't particularly my favourite.
How does it sound if I told you there's an island you can visit and there's literally nothing but peace and quiet. There's only 1 resort on the entire island with no restaurants, minimal human interaction and no distraction (unless of course you bring them along with you).
Brings you back to basics but with comfort and style.
Brings you back to basics but with comfort and style.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Long Island.
Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT referring to the drink. But I can't deny it is equally good. *wink
Long Island is actually one of the many islands of the Whitsunday Island group, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. It is the closest island to the mainland and as the name suggests, it's 9km long but only 400m wide at its widest point. Surrounded by secluded bays and if you're keen for some flora and fauna exploration, the island comes equipped with 13km worth of walking trails. With only one resort to choose from, Palm Bay Resort, it really makes the decision making so much simpler.
We stayed at one of their Beachfront Villas. The photos you see in their website is exactly what you'll get!
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| Front view |
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| Our villa is the hidden hut on the left of this photo |
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| Rooms were clean and spacious. Perfectly sized! |
Every morning, we woke up with sounds of waves gently crashing onto the shore. As we open the front door, we could taste the salty smell of the sea breeze. It's paradise on earth.
If it hasn't struck you yet, I did mention Long Island has no restaurants. Wait what?! How are you supposed to get your daily nutrient intake?
You either get catering services where you'll have to place your orders at least 48 hours in advance or cook yourself. Their website has also indicated the availability of wood-fired pizza but pretty sure we did not see that when we were there back in July 2015, possibly a new addition.
If you chose to cook yourself, pre-plan and get your ingredients at the main island. Otherwise, no fuss. The resort itself has a mini store where residents can pick items ranging from meats and vegetables for cooking to even cheese, pâté and wines. Items taken from the store are noted down in a logbook by the residents themselves (trust system!). Payments for the items will be made during checkout.
The usual salt and pepper is available at the communal kitchen. Apart from that, you're more than welcome to use any extra ingredients at the walk-in coolers, left behind by other guests. ANDDDD... the kitchen was so well-equipped, I thoroughly enjoyed cooking during my vacation.
One of the nights, we whipped up some steak and capsicum stir fry served on a bed of garlic-butter couscous. Tastier than what you'll be able to get outside!
You either get catering services where you'll have to place your orders at least 48 hours in advance or cook yourself. Their website has also indicated the availability of wood-fired pizza but pretty sure we did not see that when we were there back in July 2015, possibly a new addition.
If you chose to cook yourself, pre-plan and get your ingredients at the main island. Otherwise, no fuss. The resort itself has a mini store where residents can pick items ranging from meats and vegetables for cooking to even cheese, pâté and wines. Items taken from the store are noted down in a logbook by the residents themselves (trust system!). Payments for the items will be made during checkout.
The usual salt and pepper is available at the communal kitchen. Apart from that, you're more than welcome to use any extra ingredients at the walk-in coolers, left behind by other guests. ANDDDD... the kitchen was so well-equipped, I thoroughly enjoyed cooking during my vacation.
One of the nights, we whipped up some steak and capsicum stir fry served on a bed of garlic-butter couscous. Tastier than what you'll be able to get outside!
And another night it was aglio olio, steak served with grilled carrots and a bottle of wine.
After dinner, we usually just chill at the lounge area. Bring some boardgames, it will come in handy. Chess wasn't particularly my favourite.
What did we do all day?
On one of the days, we woke up just before 6am to catch the sunrise.
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| There was a nice big swing for us to enjoy the view of a sunrise |
Other days, we spent the evening watching the sunset whilst sipping wine pairing it with cheese and pâté.
One interesting fact! Since the resort was located on the narrow section of the island, we could see the sunset right in front of our villa; and just about a 5 minutes stroll behind our villa, we had the magnificent sunrise.
Which one's your favourite? Sunrise or sunset?
But most of the days... we spent our afternoon out at sea. We did kayaking and snorkelling; and one other time, we had a mini picnic on a paddle boat in the middle of the rocking ocean. The picnic consist only of beer.
It was hard labour trying to carry those boats, bare feet.
After a tiring day of having salt in my hair, we'd just lie down by the beach and get a suntan.
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| sausage or leg? |
OR spend the afternoon just bumming by the hammock right in front of our villa.
On days we felt like we needed a walk, we'll visit the abandon resort on the other side of the island and count the number of birds we spotted.
Long Island is one of my favourite islands and I'm not the only one who vouch on this. Apparently US music icon Pink comes here because of its private location.
It was good times! Chasing the wind and catching them rays.
Thank you for the good times Palm Bay Resort. Till next time.
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