The gods of music and poetry, The Muses, gathered Orpheus' remains and buried him at the foot of Mount Olympus and in his memory set his lyre among the starts. The magic of his music lives on in the sands and splendour of Orpheus Island.

Today's Orpheus really begins eighty kilometres south of the island when you board the seaplane for a memorable twenty minute flight from Townsville. Sea Air Pacific's seven-seater De Havilland is a heavy, primitive machine with a temperament designed to put the adventure back into flying. You can sense the effort in the steel grey plates as she lifts her weight from the ground and powers carefully out over the bay and past Magnetic Island on your right.

It's extremely noisy only a thousand feet above the smooth sea. Below, a delightful welcome from the abundant life of the Barrier Reef; a pair of manta rays doing their own form of flying just beneath the surface of the water, heading north along the string of islands off the coast.

After passing the Palm Islands, home to a large aboriginal community, we begin our swooping descent to Orpheus. The engine requires a little nurturing, the pilot easing back the throttle lever, a practised adjustment of the fuel mixture and elevator trim as the altimeter unwinds and we glide lower over the watery runway. Fortunately it's a calm day and the plane's landing floats meet the bay quietly, skating towards the pontoon moored out from the resort. Solid areas of water are sliced away from beneath the floats, producing a sound that might be mistaken for a continuous sigh of relief from fellow passengers, now well disposed for a relaxing stay on one of the Barrier Reef's most enchanting hideaways.