Hayman Island Resort is Really Down Under

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In fact, it's about as far "Down Under" as you can get. Even for Australia, this place is isolated. But, happily, this "isolation" is also as "splendid" as it gets.

This private island resort is in the Whitsunday Islands in the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland in Australia's northeast. Its premise is luxury-in-nature. And it delivers.

Hayman is the name of both the island and the resort. It (they!) are named after Thomas Hayman, an early explorer who charted these waters. The resort is spread out over 726 densely-forested acres, bordered on one side by a white-sand beach with startlingly-clear turquoise waters, and on the other by a tropical forest that's a living laboratory of exotic - and often endangered - plant and animal species.

The Great Barrier Reef is considered by many divers to be the best diving spot on Earth. So it's fitting that Hayman Island offers programs for the novice (ten-minute "try dives") to the advanced (PADI Open Water certification). For the less adventurous, these waters, because of their clarity, are also great for snorkeling. During the winter months (July through September down here), divers can often hear a sound that can take your breath away - whales singing in the water.

There are plenty of pursuits on top of the water, as well, among them kayaking, sailing, wind-surfing, tubing, water-skiing, and wakeboarding, and of course, fishing. And if you arrive back at the docks with a catch, Hayman's chefs will create a wonderful dinner from it, at any of the four restaurants on property.

Interesting hiking trails run all through the property, filled with endangered plant and animal species. One of them is the Proserpine Rock Wallaby, a sort of mini-kangaroo that's been saved by Hayman's breeding efforts, and is now thriving here.

After all that diving boating, and hiking, many guests end their day at the Hayman Spa. There are   13 treatment rooms here, offering packages such as the Caviar and Pearl Rejuvenation Facial, the Tropical Papaya and Pineapple De-Aging Body Wrap, and the Couples' Aromatic Cocoon. There are tennis courts on-site. A fitness center. And a golf course to which you travel not by car, but by helicopter. 

Meals can be taken at four signature restaurants, as well as other snacking opportunities around the resort. Azure is right on the beach, serving Australian cuisine and seafood that was in the ocean just a few hours earlier. La Trattoria is, as you might guess, Italian, with an ambience of hanging vines and terracotta tiles. Oriental fuses together the cuisines of Thailand, China, Japan, and India. Fontaine is contemporary Australian, with an emphasis on locally-sourced foods.

If you'd rather opt for a more-intimate dining experience, the resort offers a variety of "Chef Events," among them the weekly Chef's Table, or a 12-course tasting menu - for only four guests - at the Hayman Culinary Academy.

The resort's 210 guest accommodations are scattered throughout the island, enhancing the feeling of privacy, and include guest rooms, suites, penthouses, a beach house, and a brand-new collection of eight beach villas.

Hayman Island feels like your own private tropical island. As you walk these paths, you'll see flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. You'll see birds with names like kookaburras, rainbow lorikeets, and sulfur-crested cockatoos. You'll breathe aromatic forest air tinged by the sea breeze and smells. And you'll be backed by a stunning canopy of deep-green, and fronted by a turquoise sea in which it seems you can see to infinity.

Hayman Island is the lap of luxury...in the warm lap of Nature's arms.