Disapproving Cockatoo
“Yaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” I scream while running barefoot naked across the room. It’s not a rogue insect or an intruder, it’s the private plunge pool that is making me scream is it is a scream of excitement and not fear. Although there is an intruder by way of a cockatoo standing by the pool that acts like a lifeguard whose expression says to me
“You’d better put on a bikini, this isn’t a nude beach!”
“Put some clothes on!” he says and huffs off
or perhaps I’m hallucinating…
One fun golf buggy ride (and one close call, it seems I’m hopeless even on a golf buggy!) and I’ve arrived at my Windward Pavilion at Qualia Resort.
There’s a bottle of Veuve Cliquot chilling on the table, a bowl of fruit, Aesop skincare, a deliciously divine but almost impossible to open Linden Leaves Fig licorice bath salt sachet, Teadrop teas, Collette Dinnigan designed tea towels, a freestanding egg shaped bathtub and 120 complimentary movies and wifi. And the reason why I am running around naked? It’s a balmy 25 degrees and the windows are one way they assure me. Or so they tell me (I must check that!).
Veuve Cliquot for every guest
For those of you unfamiliar with Hamilton Island, it is an island just two hours away from Sydney in Queensland. It is also the place where they held the World’s Best Job competition. One lucky winner got to be the caretaker of the Island for six months and received a $150,000 salary and stayed in a three bedroom villa with pool. Sadly that was not me 
Welcome canapes
When we checked in we were greeted with a glass of French champagne and some small glasses with smoked salmon, fennel and caviar and raspberry cheesecake foam. My fellow writers are Lee Tulloch the writer of one of my favourite books as a teenager Fabulous Nobodies, the weekend’s host Sarah Wilson, Simon Thomsen and his wife Sally and Trudi Jenkins from Delicious and Leo Schoefield is making his way here. We make our way down to the Pebble Beach restaurant where lunch is a seafood extravaganza.
Pebble Beach
Chilli caramel duck, crispy noodles $22
The duck slices are cooked pink inside and are flavoursome and tender and I particularly like the contrast of the crunchy noodles and the rest of the coleslaw, crunchy roasted peanuts and aromatic coriander.
Chilli mud crab, $48
This was the dish that I was eyeing off so I was glad when it came out. It is absolutely huge and I manage to snag a leg and some noodles. The noodles are well cooked and deliciously spicy and the crab meat sweet.
Salt and pepper bugs $35
I love bug meat especially when it’s done like this. The first dish has less of the salt and pepper than the second one which is seasoned well and the Asian herbs and hot and sour sauce add another dimension of flavour.
Char grilled tuna, champagne dressing $34
Some here just didn’t like the idea of the fruit with the tuna. Whilst it wasn’t too bad at all with the cool, thirst quenching watermelon, seared tuna and Persian feta dressing and green beans I actually preferred eating the tuna by itself and the salad with the dressing by itself.
Nasi goreng with spicy soy sauce $26
The Nasi Goreng is generously portioned with prawns and small pieces of chicken breast and two large sunny side up eggs but the rice itself tastes just of soy sauce without the other lovely flavourings that good nasi gorengs can have that use shallots, garlic and belacan in addition to kecap manis (an Indonesian sweet soy sauce) that gives it a caramelised char flavour too.
Dessert time!
Dessert comes to us in little glass pots of goodness and I try the lemon curd with glazed strawberry and cheesecake crumbs and the delicious nutty brownie with raspberries and raspberry sauce.
The main pool (but let’s face it, we have a private one at our pavillions)
The view from the other side of the pool
I relax and have a bath in my pavilion and before I know it 6:30pm has arrived and we are to convene at the Long Pavilion. A very frantic golf buggy ride later in the dark with a directionally challenged and half blind me (did you know that golf buggys can go over decorative stone edging? No? Well I was just testing for you ). I arrive at the Long Pavillion where my lovely friends @bridget_cooks and @iconic88 join me for a light six course by head chef Jane-Therese Mulry who worked with Marco Pierre White along with wines matched by James Halliday. Sharing my table is Leo Schofield and his friend Dean.
Crisp polenta, goat’s curd fondue served with 2008 Yalumba Virgilius Viognier
The crisp polenta square with a goat’s cheese fondue is accompanied by pickled red peppers and three chanterelle mushrooms. It’s the perfect first dish, done and dusted within three perfectly balanced bites.
Quince confit salmon served wtih 2009 Robert Oatley Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
I don’t particularly like fruit with fish so I’m hesitant at first but the quince has just the right amount of sweetness and slight tartness to complement the beautifully cooked salmon. it comes with a watercress and bacon emulsion and horseradish cream although I didn’t particularly taste the flavours of these as the salmon and quince were quite dominant.
Curry leaf veal, reef lobster served with 2006 Yering Station Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier
The curry leaf veal again was very subtle in curry leaf flavour but it was without a doubt an absolutely beautiful cut of meat cooked perfectly medium rare. Sitting aside the beef was a wakame ravioli with caramelised yogurt and it was topped with pieces of reef lobster. I found the ravioli (tortellini on the menu but filled pasta anyway) too odd for me and I left most of this behind (but not before pinching all the lobster).
Coconut, carrot and lemon balm
This petite serving is somewhere between a panna cotta and a posset and is utterly gorgeous with the carrot being a most unusual addition to the coconut cream pudding. I don’t really taste any lemon balm in this however.
Banana, white chocolate and passionfruit served with 2008 Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling
Don’t you think this looks just like a boat? Not surprising given Hamilton island’s sailing pedigree as it is owned by a billionaire winemaker (Wild Oats) and yachting fan Bob Oatley. In any case the “hull” is a creamy white chocolate parfait and there is a slice of caramelised banana coated in a lightly burnt caramel sauce and a quenelle of passionfruit sorbet.
It’s getting late and we have a big day tomorrow (stay tuned for that! ) so I take my golf buggy and drive off into the dark. I manage to park it in front of the wrong pavilion and try to get in and realise I am not at my “home” and eventually find the correct one.
I love turndown service and on my bedside table apart from water is a box of chocolates which are created by former El Bulli chef Oriol Balaguer that have just arrived in Australia from Barcelona. They’re utterly brilliant, the dark chocolate one filled with hazelnut and poprocks (whose “poppiness” really last in the mouth!) and a lovely creamy white chocolate yuzu one for something a bit safer and less explosive. I draw another bath and fall asleep.
The End.
Until the next day! 
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever or would you ever skinny dip?
NQN travelled to Hamilton Island and stayed at Qualia as a guest of Qualia
Qualia Resort
Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia
http://www.qualia.com.au/
1300 780 959
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now? 
NQN on Facebook
RSS
69 Comments | Add your own
Hamilton Island is such a great place, I love the little buggies!
Qualia looks gorgeous
You are the luckiest woman in Australia! That room is gorgeous and the food looks fantastic!
And you talk to me about dream holidays and food??? To answer your question, yup, I’ve been there and done it…the skinny dipping I mean.
oh my – what a wonderful stay!
Whoah, that looks amazing – what I wouldn’t do for a holiday like that!? Venue, facilities, FOOD!
Skinny dipping is on my 30 before 30 list! http://littlelioness.net/thirty-before-30/
oh em gee, that was only one day?! what an awesome day! i’m super pleased you shared the skinny dipping anecdote
the salt and pepper bugs drooool.
What a gorgeous suite, Lorraine! Your private pool is stunning and I feel relaxed just looking at it.
I love turn-down service too! The little chocolates are the best.
I am raging with jealousy at the food in this post! That looks so incredible!
This looks incredible! I live in England and I’m pretty sure you’d be getting steak pie and chips (I mean, as great as they are) and your animal entertainment would be a feral cat. So jealous.
It all looks so wonderful Lorraine! And the golf buggies sound fantastic.
As a teenager I was too shy to skinny-dip, and now I think I’ll blind people, but if I had my own pool I would!!
Qualia is absolutely stunning. I got a peek when I went to Hamilton island. Those Gold Buggies are a hoot. I always felt like I was going to fall off it. Ahahaha. Nice post Lorraine. I wish I was in Hamilton Island right now.
ROTFL at the image of you trying to get into the wrong villa (’cause I would *never* do anything like that)! What an incredible setting…
Skinny dipping? Ahem, once, when we were on holiday and made friends with some summer workers at a water park – weeeeeee!! Oh yeah, and once more on New Years Eve in the Philippines. But I was young and skinny then
My goodness!!! What beautiful accomodation- would love a private plunge pool- would definitely make me consider skinny dipping.
I read about a ‘desert island experience’ once where they drop you off on an island in the Maldives with a picnic basket and you have the whole thing to yourself for a day! I think there I’d go skinny dipping!
Wow I am loving the food, and the resort looks amazing. Jealous!!
I love the place, the food, the room, the presentation. Everything about this place looks so good, relaxing and calm. What a great place to spend your holiday and be pampered and spoiled. I would love to go there someday.
As I sip my morning coffee in the coldest region in south west NSW, I can only be extremely envious of your opportunity to stay and play in the best places. No skinny dipping here, but have been known to discard layers late at night @ Lake Bennett outside of Darwin.
Oh My! I’ve read & re-read your a-bloomin-mazing Hamilton island experience…. I’m not even hungry at the moment but I could eat every morsel on these delish. photos, give you a run for your money with spastic golf cart driving (dreadful memories of taking out a perfectly innocent statue in Peurto Rico) & pretty fabulous memories of skinny dipping at Port Douglas.
Think you’ve officially ruined the rest of the day for me (down green eyed monster… down
Lucky you! What a great spot.
That pool is to die for! And the foods is just mouthwatering!
I chucked at your comment about testing the buggy ha ha!
OMG sooooo jealous!! Although my inlaws own an apartment on the resort side of HI so we get to go there whenever we want, but I WANNA GO TO QUALIA!!
I went to Hamilton Island this year, and absolutely loved it!
We weren’t allowed to go into Qualia, but my friend is there right now and said it is like heaven on earth!
hehe oh my gosh I am sooo jealous!! That food looks amazing.
And I’m with you – clothes are over rated when you have your own private room and one way windows
it seems like i’m surrounded by skinny dippers (swedish in-laws!)
private plunge pools are the goods. they make life worth living.
Wow, the food looks so amazing! So much fresh seafood.
You are a very lucky ducky to go on this trip, can’t wait to hear about the next day…
Ah I’ve wanted to go here ever since it opened, lucky you! Skinny dipping is one of lifes naughty little pleasures & yes I have…a few times ( when ever it’s possible). Once on a deserted beach in the SW of WA only to be set upon by a bunch of fishermen in a 4WD! Run for the sand dunes LOL
How fantastic does that place look? You indeed live a top notch life!
Yes, I skinny dipped once, in 2007. It was my first visit to Greece and had falled in love with the spirit of the place, the scenery, the food, and a little bit with a man in Athens. I was whizzing around the island of Spetses on a motor bike, the wind in my hair…anyhow, there was a beach and (almost) no-one there so, even though it was April and still a little cool, I threw caution to the wind: I stripped off and dived into the Aegean.
one word after reading today …Heaven
Talk about living the dream!
Not since I was a toddler and it didn’t really count as “skinny dipping!” I’m not a huge fan of the water, but I wouldn’t rule it out..
So, should we be expecting a review of a nudist hotel sometime soon?
(P.S. I want that goats cheese fondue badly.)
Gosh, I loved the golf buggies on Hamilton, but don’t you need a driver’s license for them (sorry, I thought you weren’t licensed yet).
Your ‘room’ looks incredible, as does the food. I think I know where our next holiday is going to be; just have to win the lottery first
Qualia definitely looks like a place to consider in Hamilton. The food looks gorgeous too. I would definitely skinny dip if I had my own private pool
Wow those bugs look devine! Yum Yun Yum- lucky duck.
That just looks like the most relaxing get away. Gorgeous accommodation and wonderful food. Sloth and eat, good book, yep sounds like heaven.
Yes I have skinny dipped :p
Looks lovely and decadent! Oh to be a cockatoo living on Hamilton Island.. Maybe in my next life
I think I have seen paradise and this is IT! Seriously, I could just lounge there for a really, really, REALLY long time. If you ever get sick and can’t make a trip, I will gladly go in your stead. heehee. Yeah, like that will ever happen…..
that parrot looks like the one that came into our balcony when we were at hamilton! heh!
This look aboslutely divine I am so envious! I stayed at Hamilton Island a few years ago before Qualia was built and it really makes me want to visit. That food looks amazing.
I am not much of a water person, and not much for skinny dipping, though the pool you had privately, was awesome.
Your room, the food photos and description of all of it looks delicious, but bugs (questionable). I think I would have to pass on what some things were and eat first then be told what they were. I was going to sleep and decided to look at what you were up to, and so glad I did as you made me laugh with your golf cart. You are so funny and have the best sense of humor. What a great time and looking forward to part 2. Wish I could blink and be there. You go to the best places and make everything fun. I have learned a lot from you. Enjoy the rest of your time.
Goodness! So much food and you still have to squeeze into a bikini afterwards? That’s just cruel taunting! I’d be wearing a big t-shirt to hide my food baby! Looks like a very decadent treat! Lucky you!
Wow, what a divine place, you are one very lucky girl.
Love the idea of salt & pepper bugs, I must give this recipe a go next time I buy some at the Sydney Fish Markets.
Skinny dipping, no, too much of a prude lol
Waiting for day 2, it will have to be extra good to top Day 1.
Yum, delicious food, indeed! It all looks delish, though the tuna with champagne dressing really caught my attention. I love Hamilton Island and have eaten at the restaurant at Qualia; exceptional. Never stayed there though, you lucky woman!
Did you happen to see the new Yacht Club? My hubby was the project architect on it *shameless wife* tee hee
This place looks amazing, and your photography is, as usual, divine!
ciao
Alessandra
My brilliant observation is
…the resort looks great and the food so mouthwatering, but the salt & pepper bugs (*o*)?? Wouldn’t have the guts to try them!
Wow!!! Qualia is absolutely beautiful. If only….
I was laughing so hard at the cockatoo story at the start of the post.
And the food looks lovely and the place relaxing.
OH MY GOD you are so lucky! I’ve stayed at the Beach Club before (the other private accom on Hamilton island) but was always super curious about what happened behind closed doors at Qualia! NOW I KNOW – skinny dipping!! hahahahah…
Well, I have never skinny dipped, but i totally would 
It all looked amazing. Those pop rock truffle desserts seem to be all about at the moment. I’ve got myself a few packs with intent to make something I make go pop.
and yes but it was oh so long ago……
It’s articles like this that make me miss home…such a beautiful island!
This looks amazing Lorraine, so jealous!
Now this is the post I’ve been waiting for! Hamilton Island is so close yet so expensive to stay at. Although I must find a chance to visit as my friend works at the animal reserve. Qualia looks absolutely amazing, even though the food seems a touch on the try hard side. If I can pay to stay there then I certainly would skinny dip and run around naked!
Sooo green! This place looks like heaven & omg that pool! Can’t wait to read the next installment!
Oh & somewhere private.. why not?
Sounds like such a wonderful getaway, gorgeous location and delicious foods!
What a lovely turndown goodie!!!
I love that first picture. That cute birdy reminds me of my mother who loooooooves cockatoos. She would have totally stolen it if she saw it running around by itself like that LOL.
No, I’d never “skinny” dip cause i always feel like a fatty LOL.
Have a wonderful weekend.
*kisses* HH
Wow Nigella what an amazing hotel room – lucky guest with complimentary Veuve. Amazing to get such nice weather there in the middle of August as well.
add cockatoo to the list of random pets i’d like to have.
Oooh, yes, I have skinny dipped many times. Love it! I’m not sure if I would these days though, at least not unless I knew it was really private (and there were no security cameras around)! I love, love, love Hamilton Island. Have not been fortunate to stay at the Qualia Resort, but have been to the waterfront adults-only one (can’t think of the name) and of course in various rooms/suites of the Reef View before and after refurbishment.
Can’t wait to go back …
I’m actually feeling a bit jealous right now! The villa was lovely, the food looked fantastic. I would skinny dip in that plunge pool if there was no one within 100m of me, and it was dark out!
Beautiful looking place & the food looked great.I’ve never been & would love to go at some stage.
Like InTolerantChef said, I’m feeling a bit jealous!
Beautiful accommodation – private pools are so fun, aren’t they? The food looks gorgeous…even if a few of the dishes are seafood! 
I have never skinny dipped, and I don’t think there’d be any chance of getting me to do it, unless you paid me a lot of money! And by a lot, I mean A LOT!!!
You almost had me spill my red wine when I read about you running around naked infront of the native wildlife! Qualia looks amazing! I think the last time I skinny dipped was in a hot spa pool at one of the grand hotels in Budapest. Everyone was doing it! Although I’m sure my swimmers would have stayed on if women & kids weren’t in their own private area
No skinny dipping here, alas if I did it would be more “chunky dunking” anyway LOL! Food and resort look amazing. What a wonderful job you have, maybe you need to be on the top jobs show too?!
I want to drive everywhere in a golf buggy! Well, actually, everywhere that involves a short trip. To the beach for a skinny dip, for instance.
Running around naked indoors is one thing, but skinny dipping is absolutely another. I would definitely, without a doubt, get caught. More than likely by a very attractive male member of staff too. Clothes are a good thing sometimes.
I love the sound of the coconut,carrot and lemon balm – sounds incredible. It all sounds incredible really…..
I can’t get over the luxuriousness of having a personal pool! And Oriol Balaguer chocs! Love em!
That looks amazing! I really should try to make more of an effort – I live in Brisbane, it’s only a couple of hours away! Does skinnydipping in a private pool count? hehe
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] I suppose you knew that my golf buggy adventures didn’t end at the night before. When I woke up to a most brilliant view I quickly got all ready to head to the Justin North [...]
Post a Comment