Paradise Bay Reviews

The Perfect Escape Clause – 5th Dec 09 Fairfax Traveller

Paradise is a slippery and overused notion. For some it might be a stool in a sports bar with a good view of the wide- screen television. For others, paradise might conjure images of sparkling pools and spa treatments. Neither are available at Paradise Bay Eco Escape, in the heart of Queensland’s Whit- sunday Islands, but the place does justice to its name admirably.

Tucked into a cove on the southern end of Long Island, one of 74 islands in the Whitsunday chain and facing the untracked wilderness of Conway National Park on the mainland, Paradise Bay shares the island with two other resorts but there is no contact with the neighbours.

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A Trio of Delights – 15th Nov 09 News Ltd National

Basking under the warm tropical sunshine and doused in heavenly blue, Long Island melts into the smooth skin of the sea surrounded by a further 73 Whitsunday islands, forming what is reputed to be one of the world's most scenic playgrounds.

Long Island offers three distinctly different holiday adventures and manages to cater for budget travellers, families, luxury and ecotourism guests.

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Ben Southall – “Best job in the World” promotion

We touched down onto the tiniest of landing pads nestled in amongst the palm trees, jumped out and were greeted by the Tapa and Jane, the managers of Paradise Bay – our location for the next couple of days. Making our way along the path we arrived at the main social area (there is only one as there’s so few people here it’s all that is needed!) and met a few of the other guests.

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Toronto Star Online Newspaper

SOUTH LONG ISLAND, Australia–The kayak glides over a sea of silver silk. The only sounds are the twittering of tropical birds in the hoop pines and the gentle splash of water against the island's rocky shore. Occasionally, a speckled head breaks the surface as a green turtle takes a gulp of fresh air.

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Travelling in Australia
Issue #119 October/November 2008

Tucked away in a secluded cove at the southern end of Long Island, a small retreat overlooks the calm waters of the Coral Sea. It’s the picture-perfect ideal, the kind of place treasured by escapists the world over, complete with palm
trees, golden sands and a hammock to spare.

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Sydney Morning Herald
October 21, 2008

Susan Gough Henly finds a wilderness that comes with lashings of luxury.
We are gliding over a sea of silver silk. The clouds arc from puce on the horizon to baby pink above us to mauve over the jungle-green hills. A white-breasted sea eagle rides the airwaves. The only sound is the twittering of tropical birds in the hoop pines and the gentle splash of water against the island's rocky shore. That and an occasional whoosh/plop as a speckled head breaks the surface and a large green turtle grabs a gulp of fresh air before swimming beneath our double kayak, its enormous carapace easily visible.

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Sun Herald - October 5, 2008

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Bulletin Magazine

Excerpt from “Recharge”
Edited by Susan Skelley
October 2007

In vacations - Where do those in the know go for their holiday breaks?

Paradise Bay Eco Escape

There’s no glass in the windows, no door key and no mobile phone reception.  This comfortable and stylish getaway for 16 is tucked away in Paradise Bay on Long Island, in the Whitsunday’s opposite the green hills of Conway National Park.  The lodge uses rainwater, runs mostly on solar power, treats its own waste water and there are no televisions, hairdryers or air-conditioning.

Highlights include arriving by helicopter, the Wilderness Explorer car; walking tracks; kayaking and snorkeling.  - Lee Mylne

Frommer's Review

This lodge was designed to show off the Whitsundays' natural beauty. Tucked in a cove under towering hoop pines and palms, it is an environmentally sensitive establishment on a national park island. It appeals to people who want to explore the wilderness in comfort, without the crowds, noisy watersports, or artificial atmosphere of a resort. It's also a great place to meet other travelers. A maximum of 16 guests stay in simple but smart cabins facing the sea, each with a double bed, modern bathroom, and private deck facing the sea. Solar power rules, so there is no air-conditioning or TVs, hair dryers, irons, or other appliances. There is one public phone. Social life centers on an open-sided gazebo by the beach, equipped with a natural-history library and CDs, where everyone dines together at slab tables under the Milky Way on fabulous buffet-style campfire meals. Access is only by a short but stunning helicopter flight from Hamilton Island.

Daily excursions include sailing away on the lodge's gleaming 10m (33-ft.) catamaran, a helicopter flight to the Outer Reef and Whitehaven Beach, sea kayaking the mangroves to spot giant green sea turtles (which are common around the lodge), snorkeling the fringing reef on uninhabited islands, or bushwalking to a magical milkwood grove no one else knows about. Or you may prefer to just laze in a hammock or head off with a free sea kayak and snorkel gear. The beach is more tidal flat than sand, but clean and firm enough to sunbathe on. Wildlife abounds, including Myrtle, the lodge's pet kangaroo. Those who stay on this 1,215-hectare (3,001-acre) island consider it a plus that no ferries or cruise boats stop here and that the lodge is inaccessible to day-trippers.

Sydney Morning Herald

Paradise found

March 22, 2006

Pass through Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsundays, and discover South Long Island, a secluded, eco-friendly heaven, Lee Mylne reports.

There are two colours in the Whitsundays: blue and green. We are agreed on this, as I sit with a small group of American visitors around the coffee table at South Long Island Nature Lodge, gazing across Paradise Bay to the hills of Conway National Park. What we cannot agree on is the exact shade of blue to describe the water and the sky here. Turquoise, azure, kingfisher.

The shades change, of course, with the light and the weather, but in the end the guests don't really care and move on to more important matters, such as which bay we'll be sailing to on the lodge's private 34-foot catamaran (and whether stinger suits are really a good look).

It's raining when I hop off the helicopter at the lodge's private pad - the only way to arrive at this secluded spot on the southern end of Long Island, better known for the large family-style resort, Club Crocodile, at the other end.

The rain has washed everything green and clean. Long Island is one of the largest of the 74 islands scattered in the Whitsunday Passage, but one of the least spoilt. Only six others - Hayman, Hamilton, Daydream, South Molle, Lindeman and Hook - have resorts; the rest are visited only on what the Whitsundays are best known for: their fleet of sailing boats.

South Long Island Nature Lodge is small and exclusive. Established 12 years ago by former architect and builder David Macfarlane, the lodge has only 10 cabins and takes just 16 guests at a time.

A 10-minute helicopter ride from Hamilton Island airport, the lodge was built on a former timber-milling site and much of the cleared land has been replanted. Wallabies, goannas, bush turkeys, butterflies, cockatoos and colourful lorikeets abound. From a headland at the southern tip of the island, there are spectacular views of the Whitsunday Passage. Much of it has probably changed little since Captain Cook sailed by in 1770.

But what makes this resort different from most others is that it is almost entirely self-sufficient. It uses rainwater, runs on solar power and treats all its own waste water. There are no televisions, hairdryers or phones and no mobile reception. There is no air-conditioning, and no glass in the windows of the beachfront cabins.

And yes, at $2490 per person for a minimum five-night stay, it is expensive. But the cost includes helicopter transfers, all meals prepared by a top chef, private sailing trips and all snorkelling and kayaking equipment.

The cabins look across the bay, with its fringing reef, to the mainland. In the lodge's six-metre inflatable motor boat, we head for the mangroves and idle into the estuary, just a fraction before an ebb tide turns us back. In the water, sea grass, green turtles and fish abound. The hills of Conway National Park, and the small islands around us, are covered with the distinctive hoop pines found all over the Whitsundays.

FOLLOW THE READER: All-inclusive lodge in Great Barrier Reef

Sunday, April 24, 2005

One of the highlights of a recent five-week trip to Australia and New Zealand with my husband was the week we spent at the secluded Paradise Bay Eco Escape, located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in the Whitsunday Islands of Queensland, Australia.

Your stay can be as relaxing or invigorating as you want. The all- inclusive rate includes helicopter transfers to and from the lodge from Hamilton Island (there are no roads on the island), comfortable beachfront luxury bungalows surrounded by rain forest, all meals including afternoon tea, unlimited use of sea kayaks, snorkeling equipment, daily sailing excursions on a 34-foot catamaran, and an (optional) helicopter tour and snorkeling trip to the outer reef of the Great Barrier Reef, stopping off at Whitehaven Beach.

We hiked through the rain forest spotting many different birds, wildlife and stunning flora. Every day we saw wallabies right outside our door.

The lodge is limited to 16 guests (no children) at a time, so you get lots of personalized attention from the wonderful staff. We felt rich and famous for a week.

The weekly rate is $2,925 Australian (about $2,241 US) per person, which is a real bargain for that area.

PAM GARRETT

Fodor’s Review

Talk about secluded -- this intimate lodge is accessible only by helicopter. Each of the private cabins has a king-sized and a private veranda with a double hammock -- perfect for watching romantic sunsets. Walls are adorned with photos from around the island. Unlike some other exclusive resorts, this one welcomes people traveling on their own: it doesn't impose a single surcharge for sole occupancy of a bungalow. The lodge owns and operates a sailing catamaran; excursions with an experienced local skipper are available every day except Sunday. The tariff includes your room, meals, helicopter transfers, snorkeling equipment, sailing excursions, and sea kayaking.

10 cabins. In-room: no a/c, no phone, no TV. In-hotel: restaurant, bar, beachfront, water sports, no kids under 14. AE, MC, V. All-inclusive.

Beautiful Acommodation.com

South Long Island is the result of the host’ s vision to redefine a luxury wilderness experience. His aim is to provide a maximum of 16 guests an alternative to mega-resorts with a more intimate, yet still luxurious, experience.

In tandem with the sustainable eco-lodge approach there is a concept here that tries to answer the question: 'what is a holiday?' The answer is certainly relaxation, but also a realisation that for many, after a day of doing nothing, the human mind seeks stimulation again. From a desire to provide a total wilderness experience, he developed a minimum five day stay so that all guests experience the flexible daily range of activities, centred on exploration of the natural environment.

Guests arrive only by helicopter and are spoiled by a gourmet chef, a hostess and the skipper of the Island's own 34-foot Catamaran, Wilderness Explorer.

The Lodge itself features private waterfront cabins, each with a verandah to take in the uninterrupted view of Paradise Bay. Guests enjoy fresh and innovative meals at the central gazebo and help themselves to a bar run on an honour system.

From secluded beaches to mysterious mangrove estuaries and coral gardens, Wilderness Explorer takes guests exploring on most days, with a skipper who is also a qualified dive instructor and naturalist. Daily activities are organised by consensus and while optional, most guests can't resist the spirit of exploration.

Location: South Long Island, Whitsundays. 15km or 20 minutes from Hamilton Island (Helicopter transfers included in rate).

Facilities: Lodge with lounge and dining (meals and snacks included in tariff). Waterfront cabins
(king bed), ensuite, verandah with hammock.

Activities: All included in tariff: daily catamaran sailing excursions (except Sundays). Swimming, sea kayak, paddleboards, snorkelling, nature walks.