Rottnest Island

Planned a weekend away with 2 friends who like me, have only just arrived in Perth. Decided to visit Rottnest Island like the locals for a bit of R&R. Rottnest Island is kind of like SA's Kangaroo Island, only smaller (7km x 4km), closer to the main land (half hour from Freemantle) and unlike Kangaroo Island, visitors cannot bring their car over, which makes it a perfect place to cycle about. This place is apparently so popular with the locals during school holidays that they have a 'ballot' system for allocating accommodation! Anyway, our adventure began even before we even left for the island . . .

We had agreed to meet at McDonalds for breakfast before catching the ferry from the Barrack st terminal. My bus didn't arrive till I called Transperth asking where the scheduled bus was, and they then sent one out from their depot! Reliability . . .

Quokka's. Have discovered that there is no upper limit for girls commenting on how cute these little rat like critters are. Spent most of the first day looking for these creatures, only to find out later on that these nocturnal animals come out in swarms after dark.


Bikes. The bikes rented as part of our package turned out to be of the rusted, single gear, foot brake variety. Quite frustrating. Even more frustrating was to see other people who had rented bikes of a higher grade, not knowing how to use the gears! Will definitely have to get better bikes next time.



Lighthouses. There are 2 on the island, one covering the entire island in one revolution, the other half the size and only covering a quarter with each revolution. The larger one (Wadjemup) sits pretty much in the centre of the island, the smaller one near Pinky Bay.


Kingstown Barracks. Our luxurious accommodation for the weekend. The old disused army barracks has been converted into YHA lodging and dormitories. Quite remote from the main 'township' of Thomson Bay, it's extremely quiet in the evenings. Plenty of quokka's roaming around at night in the centre quadrangle, kind of eerie :)

Rottnest really isn't a 'must see' place in WA, aside from beaches, quokka's and other cyclists there are probably more exciting places to visit. But it was a great weekend away from the 'mainland' to just chill out and enjoy the serenity. Will probably try and organise to go scuba diving around the island next time with the local dive club, there are plenty of wrecks (hence the light houses) and reefs teeming with fish life.