The last bit of our Australian holiday time was spent on Rottnest Island, 17 km off the coast of Freemantle. We took a high speed ferry, the Rottness Express, to the island. Our bags, which we checked at the ferry terminal, were delivered, as promised, directly to our accommodation.
The island is managed by the Rottnest Island Authority (like a park service.) Rates vary by season and accommodation. In the highest season (which we were fortunate to miss by a matter of weeks), there is a ballot (lottery) system in place.
We enjoyed: bike hire (rental); time on the beach; time in the water (with the exception of Eliza's jellyfish encounter); beautiful sunsets; great food on "the barbie"; shucking corn on the back veranda; and relaxing on our the front porch of our simple two-bedroom, barracks like bungalow.
We spent two sun drenched days drinking in the white sand beaches and sharing up-close encounters with the island's famous residents: the quokkas... a small member of the marsupial family that thrives on the predator free island. Whilst walking from our beach side bungalow into the main tourist area, we glimpsed a blue tongued skink, but were only to catch its chubby leathery foot on film (can find it above?).
The island has been known for:
- The salt lakes and former salt factories
- The infamously deplorable indigenous detention center it once housed
- The internment camps during the world wars
- The resort status it has enjoyed since the mid-1970s
- The Quokka. When Dutch explorers first arrived in the 1600s, they mistook these mini-kangaroo-like creatures for rats. They dubbed the island Rottnest (Rat Nest). We had a hard time wondering how these cute little creatures could be mistaken for ugly rats!
1 comment:
Traveling vicariously through your vacation and taking notes for future trips. You need to write a guide to vacation spots for expats in China. The pictures and editorials are great!
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