Australia is the excitement seeker�s paradise, the adventurous traveller�s haven, and thousands of Irish citizens� second home and now the venue for many overseas weddings. Shauna Rahman examines the hotspots for those who wish to marry upside down or couples who just wish to partake in the Ozzie experience for themselves.
From a single female perspective, travelling with three other singletons, ready to take over the Oz trail and blaze our way from one end of East Australia to the other, the variety of each different town and city along the way completely superceded even those of us ‘who had literally swallowed the handbook to Australia before we took off.’
Australia has and always will be a magnetic force which attracts those of us living on the Western hemisphere due to its weather, activities and general way of life. Beginning in Brisbane we travelled up the aptly named Sunshine Coast taking in the beautiful Noosa heads, where we surfed to our hearts delight and visited the dingo-filled Fraser Island where we swam in the most stunningly crystal clear lake, Lake McKenzie. Not only did the lake serve as a popular spot for beach bbqs, picnic breaks and picturesque scenery, but pop your jewellery into the lake’s freshwater and your pieces will come out sparkling.
Following this, the enthusiastic ‘Thelma and Louise’ crew headed for Airlie Beach, a popular location on the East Coast which personifies Australia’s young person’s party town. More importantly it is the base from which all the cruise boats depart for the Whitsunday Islands.
The Whitsunday Islands are a collective of continental islands of various sizes off the coast of Queensland, Australia, situated between Townsville and Mackay and north of Brisbane. The islands are divided into four groups varying between seven to 30 islands per group -the Molles, the Whitsunday Group, the Northern Group and the Lindeman Group. Each has their own special qualities and attractions but the Whitsunday Group has been called ‘the marriage Mecca.’
Described as the kind of place where you take the plunge - into the azure waters which frame the exotic island - and for many, into the world of marriage.
With a reef shaped like a heart, a world-famous beach as white as any wedding, and waters which sparkle like diamonds, here, celebrants’ scuba to the ceremony and brides and grooms take the plunge, literally, off the back of boats. Hayman Island is well known as the exclusive destination on which to honeymoon and get married, 150 to 200 couples choose this exotic location as their wedding venue and around 10,000 people each year choose to honeymoon there. Couples can choose from a number of ceremony locations including the scenic chapel Stellar Maris, which was built in 1996, the Lagoon Lanai (complete with two elegant white swans), the Formal Gardens, a beach ceremony or on board a luxury yacht.
Hamilton Island, Coral Sea Resort and the infamously named, Daydream Island are also popular locations for the perfect wedding setting. The weddings are co-ordinated for you and most provide luxurious accommodation, including spa and leisure activities. Whitehaven Beach Island is one of the seven wonders of the Whitsundays where couples can board their own private helicopter or seaplane and fly out over Heart Reef before landing at the Reefworld Pontoon where you can exchange wedding vows among the turquoise waters, coral gardens and tropical fish.
There are many cruise ships, party boats and smaller trawlers that will take you around the islands but one such boat, the Anaconda III was our choice. We shared our experience with less than 25 other tourists of all ages and nationalities and about seven young and enthusiastic crew members. Although our cruise ship was expensive in Australian terms - about AUS $400 for the three nights and four days - this included visiting all the different islands, snorkelling and playing beach sports and touring the various hinterland around the islands. We also had diving lessons, went on day and night dives and spent one day snorkelling in the open water over the Great Barrier Reef, watching sharks, turtles and endless streams of schools of fish swim around the rainbow sea garden below us, with humpback whales and dolphins jumping out of the water close by. Everyone agreed that for young, old, single or married this would be a perfect honeymoon experience. We are still in contact with at least two members of the trip including visitors and crew; it is a rewarding and bonding experience spending four days on the open ocean.
Although our travels brought us to many places: whether it was to the addictive Magnetic Island, where you can dance until dawn with koalas and kangaroos watching you, or the remarkable rainforests and tropical gardens of Cape Tribulation and Daintree, to the exquisitely quaint Port Douglas, where we joined a film crew making a Tom Hanks film for dinner and drinks in the town’s famous seafood restaurants; it was the Whitsunday Islands that made such an impact on us all.
For a wedding experience to remember or just an experience in itself, Australia has a bountiful array of sights to see, things to do and people to meet.
But make sure the Whitsundays feature somewhere in the line of duty for your trip as the islands are a once in a lifetime experience. The words ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’ were never so apt as when we had to bid adieu to the white, sandy beaches, the clear coral waters and those we shared our adventures with.
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