It’s lunchtime at Club Med on Lindeman Island, in the Whitsundays, and we are directed to a table where a couple and their two small children are already eating. This is standard practice. There are tables for two and four people even an intimate creeper hung side terrace with romantically small tables – but in general the tables here are for sharing. It's that kinda place.
The couple introduce themselves. They're from the Gold Coast, and we make appreciative noises about their four and six-year-old daughters. It's not hard, especially as the younger one, with her toss of auburn curls, could act Nicole Kidman as a child, if her life-story was ever filmed.
"So what brings you here?" The standard question as an icebreaker. Turns out they have been at Club Med for a few days already, and are relishing the chance as young parents to have some quality time together.
Certainly a quick scan of the surrounding tables seems to come up with a good proportion of ankle-biters happily tucking into their chicken nuggets and chips. In fact as I pick up my own meal from the groaning buffet counters, I see plenty of kid-friendly fare: small sausages, kebabs, even ice cream in a cone to take away if they've eaten all their vegetables and salad. And there is plenty of this healthy stuff too.
We later discover the couple is a criminal lawyer-policeman duo, and apparently comfortably off. Four-star Club Med is not top of the cost-chart, and indeed has a helpful one-price-covers-most-things tariff that suits families. So what was it that attracted this professional couple and their children?
"We researched the options," they tell us, "and this place was tops for children."
Last week it was the Queensland July school holidays and the place had been chockers with children, we were told. Plenty of extra activities of course to keep all the age-groups happy, and the pool, sun-warmed enough even in winter was in great demand. This week a group of rowdy senior execs from a major car brand, dressed in equally loud crimson T-shirts, seem just as happy with the water.
I take the shuttle bus up the steep pinch from the jetty. At the top of the hill is Nicolson's (the à la carte restaurant) an option for those wanting a change from the buffet, although many guests just can't tear themselves away from the nightly themed smorgasbord menu in the main dining room.
I am trying to get a phone signal (did I mention that for some this is the best part of Lindeman – a fickle mobile connection with the outside world?) and as I wait there a giggle of under-fives with their minders, cross the road like a rainbow-coloured clutch of ducklings.
Nearby, the circus school is attracting wannabe aerialists and jugglers, and somewhere else there are young artists (temporarily) in residence, craft classes, archery tuition and water sports. It's a holiday made in heaven for youngsters. You see their pictures on the communal noticeboard outside the dining room, tempting the adoring (and you suspect well-rested) parents to buy them for the family album. Of course there are family outings reef and whale watching tours, for an additional cost, as well.
Yet Lindeman was not always thus. First sighted by the captain and crew of the HMS Endeavour in 1770, the 690-hectare island was left alone until 1868 when it was named after a seaman, George Sidney Lindeman, nephew of Dr Lindeman, who founded the Lindeman Wine Company in the Hunter Valley in the mid-1800s.
Largely undisturbed again until early last century, it was then leased to pastoralists to graze sheep and goats, although as early as 1928 a group of visitors camped there, no doubt commenting on the brilliant turquoise water and the islands that fill in the horizon. The next year some semi-permanent accommodation was built and, you suspect, there would have been children amongst those early visitors.
Over the years, several tourism and resort options were tried with varying success, but in 1990 the Paris-based Club Mediterranee purchased the existing resort on Lindeman Island. Eighty-five million dollars later, in late 1992, it re-opened as the first Australian Club Med.
Today's Club Med is far removed from the island's agricultural beginnings. The resort trickles down the steep hillside, seventy steps from Reception, they tell me as I book in. I am glad my room is right at the waterfront, just a few steps from the dining room, which suits me, as my agenda includes little more than eating and sleeping.
I take a book to a lounge beside the pool. As I start to read, I look up and see my new Gold Coast friends. They're stretched out relaxing, enjoying a drink with another young couple. Their girls are nowhere in sight. They're possibly painting a masterpiece for the family fridge. Or listening to a story. Or simply hanging out with their new friends.
Fly direct to Hamilton Island, then transfer by launch (30 min) or Island Air light aircraft (five min).
Club Med Lindeman
Lindeman Island, Queensland All year
CHILDREN
Petit Club Med (2 - 4 yrs)
Mini Club Med (4 - 11 yrs)
Juniors' Club Med (11 - 14 yrs)
Visitor Information
Tourism Whitsundays,
phone (07) 4946 6673.
Club Med Lindeman Island
January: 25-30C
July: 17-22C
Summer can be rainy but temperatures are good for swimming almost all year.
4WD
