Blogs from Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

With a lack of Wi-Fi at the hostel we decided to enjoy breakfast at the cafe next door to get Internet access to post some blogs!After a quick stop at the supermarket to stock up on a few provisions we headed to the ferry terminal for Rottenest Island. Once aboard the 19km journey only took 30 minutes; which was a relief given all the infomercials they played on the crossing to promote all the islands accommodation and restaurants!Based on the lack of availability of bike/ferry package tickets we caught the Bayseeker Bus around the island for a full lap to get our bearings and an understanding of where we wanted to spend time. Part way round the bus came to an abrupt holt as a snake tried commiting ... read more

Hello again from Western Australia! I apologize for my absence as of late; I've been super busy in the lab working! However, I realized the other day that I never fully explained exactly what it is that I am actually working on here. So allow me to explain, for those of you who are interested... My project here is investigating whether we possess an unconscious attentional bias toward attractive faces. Furthermore, we are attempting to disentangle the nature of this potential bias for attractiveness; that is, is our attentional bias toward attractive faces based on attentional capture/engagement, attentional holding/disengagement, or a combination of the two? Past research has demonstrated that we possess a strong conscious bias towards attractive faces. Eyetracking studies have shown that people look longer at attractive versus typical faces; moreover, when people are ... read more

One of the best things about Perth is that there's an island right off the coast full of quokkas. There's an island off Cheyne Beach full of quokkas too but no-one's allowed on there (that's Bald Island, which is also full of Gilbert's potoroos). A quokka is a type of little wallaby, once common on the western mainland but now largely exterminated by foxes and cats. They were first seen by Europeans in 1658 when Samuel Volkerssen, skipper of the Dutch ship Waeckende Boey (which looks like it translates as "Weekend Boy" -- exactly what sort of cruise was this?), spotted some on Rottnest Island. He thought they were a kind of civet, which sounds a bit odd but they actually do have a pointy civet-y sort of face, even if the hoppiness isn't exactly a ... read more

Quokkas are small marsupials, the size of a genitically modified rat, but far cuter and are found throughout Rottnest Island. I have just come back from a 2 night stay, with my wife and 2 boys. The lads had a ball, as cars are not allowed (unless you work on the island in maintenance, operations or the police) and my wife got the chance to finally have some well earned rest with a massage. Bikes are the best form of transport and soon remind you of those childhood days when bike locks were rarely needed. After snorkelling with an octopus (I bumped into it at the reef that hugs the serene beach at Salmon Bay) I ventured to the hotel bar for sundowners. Ideally, the hotel would be on the Western side of the island to ... read more

At 9:30am, the jet boat operator told us to strap ourselves tightly into our seat belts to ensure we don't go overboard.  The boat was small and at the front was the primary site of the coming action.  Late to arrive, Sarah and I were nestled in the second row, warmed by our waterproof parkas provided to us by the Rottnest Mega Blast ferry company.  Only lasting for about 20 minutes of roller coaster-like action, the jet boat provided us with transportation from Western Australia's Fremantle harbor to Rottnest Island.  Rottnest Island is considered by many to be the best part of Western Australia and after spending the entire day on amazingly beautiful beaches surrounded by no more than 2 seagulls and the occasional german tourist, I had a good idea why.  As part of the ... read more

I was up early this morning and I headed down to the pier to catch my ferry to Rottnest island which is just off the coast of Fremantle. It's about an hour ferry ride from Perth up the river out to Rottnest island. Once the ferry landed on Rottnest island I hopped off and grabbed the bike I rented. It's been a while since i've ridden a bike but I hopped on with my map in hand and headed off to see the sights. I started out ok and seeing some of the coast on this island was amazing. But the road started getting quite hilly and it was hot out so I was sweating a lot. SOme of the hills I had to walk up because I had no energy. I stopped at a few ... read more