I was lost down the aisles of a pharmacy in Westfield Penrith when a worker asked if I needed help.
“Yes,” I said. “Where are the sea sickness tablets?”
The next day, I was aboard a ferry from Queensland’s Hamilton Island to Daydream Island, then on a private vessel to Long Island, where I stayed at Elysian Luxury Eco Island Resort.
When I say Elysian, it sounds like a made-up place – a heaven, a paradise – and that’s not an exaggeration.
From the boat I could see a bright green rainforest charging towards the crystal Whitsunday water, only separated by a row of 10 villas, each with a thatched roof, a front porch with a swing and sun beds.
A short walk from the villas was a common area consisting of a cosy restaurant, an outdoor seating zone, and a mineral infinity pool overlooking the sea – also doing it’s best to keep the rainforest at bay.
When the boat docked, not too far from the helicopter landing zone, I was greeted by the friendly faces of two staff members, welcoming my partner, Dave, and I to the island and retrieving our bags.
While the bags were carried off to Villa 4, we were shown the communal area, which included a lounge, a dining area, a games cupboard, a small library, and a bar – all amenities that we would use extensively over the next three days.
After a quick tour, we were shown our home for the next four nights. We crossed two small bridges and followed a paved pathway to our 33 square-metre oceanfront hut with views of Conway National Park to the west and Long Island National Park to the east.
The room was modern, earthy and minimalistic, with every decorative element added to induce peace. Ethical wooden furniture from Uniqwa stood throughout the room, accentuated by rattan lamps, dry coral ornaments, and an abstract painting above the bed with blue swirls and curves mimicking the motion of the ocean.
Included in the room rate was three gourmet meals daily, pre-dinner canapes, unlimited barista-style coffee, tea, juice and soft drinks, daily yoga classes, and unlimited use of all water sport equipment including snorkelling gear, paddleboards and kayaks.
After settling in to our quarters, Dave and I followed the path back to the dining room for our first Elysian dinner.
I’m not sure what I expected the clientele for this resort to look like, but there were all sorts of guests! There was a mother-daughter duo from Texas, a senior couple, honeymooners, an Austrian couple, a gentleman flying solo, and two friends from America on a life-changing trip to Australia.
Dave and I sat at a candle-lit table by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the waves and speaking to our neighbours in between feasting on the mind-blowing entrée, main and dessert.
Whenever conversation lulled, I could hear a symphony of cutlery scraping against porcelain as guests tried to savour every last crumb on their dish.
With taste buds satisfied and a full day of travel under my belt, I slept soundly in the king-sized bed eagerly awaiting the next morning when we would embark on a rainforest walk.
I woke up to the tide lapping at the rocks along the shore, ate my breakfast, downed my coffee, and requested an adventure pack from staff including water, fruit, sunscreen and a first-aid kit.
I was optimistic that the American friends we’d spoken to the night before had exaggerated the size of the spiders in the shrubbery, but that enthusiasm was replaced with utter dread in less than five minutes.
I’m going to be real with you – if you’re acutely afraid of spiders, this is an activity to skip. I’m ashamed to admit I cried in the rainforest when I had to walk past an orb spider the size of my head; however, I couldn’t stand the idea of turning back so soon, so I soldiered on through the tears.
The rainforest was dense and the path was marked with pink ribbons. Butterflies flittered around in the sections that had the most sunlight, and if we were quiet and observant, we could have spotted wallabies, a variety of bird species, and goannas – but we’re not that graceful.
We only spotted a goanna when we left the rainforest and Dave tried to crack open a coconut on the beach without realising the large lizard was lounging under a palm frond right beside him; like I said, not graceful.
We wound down after our walk with a glass of prosecco and a dip in the pool before raiding the games cupboard.
We became Battleship, Connect Four, and chess aficionados, and Dave taught me how to play Blackjack using coasters.
That’s how we spent most of our time on the island – a glass of bubbles in hand, a game underway, togs on, a stint on the massage table, and the kind of satisfied facial expression that only comes with total relaxation.
At night, we would lay down on our sun beds to look at the sky, untouched by metropolitan light. The longer you look at the stars, the more they appear, forming a galaxy right before your eyes.
From the aisles of a chemist to the isles of the Whitsundays, this is a trip I’ll never forget.
Visit https://www.elysianretreat.com.au.
Ally Hall
Ally Hall joined the Weekender in 2024, and focuses on entertainment and community stories. She's a graduate of the University of South Australia and has previously worked as a Video Journalist with Southern Cross Austereo and as a News Reader with Australian Radio Network.