Rottnest Island

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On Wednesday morning we were down in the lobby by 7-45 in preparation for our trip to Rottnest Island. We were supposed to leave by 8-15, however, the bus was late due to heavy traffic, so were on our way about 8-45. This still gave us plenty of time to drive to Hillary''s boat harbour to catch the ferry to Rotto. It was a sunny but chilly morning which developed into a beautiful, warm sunny day. The ferry trip took about 40 minutes and we arrived at Thompson's Bay about 10-45am. A short walk and we were at the local bus depot ready for our round island trip. The bus company is Quokka tours and, apart from hiring a bike is the only way to see the whole island.Our driver, John, had plenty of jokes and called the bike riders the "wobblies". We drove around the coast, first stopping near Porpoise Bay for a photo opportunity. The water was a dappled carpet of various blues and greens, very calm and peaceful.We went past Salmon Bay and then drove up to the Wadjemup Lighthouse in the centre of the island. During WW2 there had been lookouts and gun emplacements here to guard Freo and the important submarine base there.



Then it was down to the most western part of the island, Cape Vlamingh. Here we were allowed to alight to take photos and view the area more closely. We saw several osprey nests and a rock with a colony of seals. Plenty of wildlife about. We returned via Geordie Bay where there were many holiday apartments which we were told were very popular as school holiday spots for Perth residents. Passing the nine hole golf course we returned to our starting point after a very pleasant 45 minutes or so.

Then it was time for lunch so we walked to the area known as the settlement where the prisoners and the troops who guarded them were originally housed. Here there are a variety of shops and cafes. I had googled for recommendations for eateries and we found Frankie's on Rotto in the main area. There were plenty of quokkas scrounging for food and one cheeky one came right up to our table. We saw another couple lose part of their lunch to some marauding crows. Our waitress told us she had seen a small quokka steal an entire pizza from a guest at one stage!! We ordered a seafood platter to share which proved 'to be a winner washed down by a nice sauv blanc.

After lunch we walked along the foreshore and saw the original buildings which have now been turned into holiday apartments. Then we strolled to the hotel and had a glass of wine before returning to the pier for the ferry back to Perth. While we were waiting to board we had a message from P&O to say that the ship was late arriving in Freo and our boarding time for the next day would be four hours later. So instead of boarding at 2pm it would be 6pm. This changed everyone's plans but we had to adjust and revise. Back at the hotel we decided to eat there again and after a lovely meal we retired to our room.

The next morning we packed and after breakfast took advantage of the 12 pm check out to stay in our room to write this blog and for Fletcher to catch up on his stats. We ventured to the lobby at noon and were able to leave our luggage at reception. We walked up to Hay street and then found an interesting restaurant in a small lane . This was called Angel Falls and was Venezuelan in cuisine. Here we had empanadas and a prawn dish called Cuzela. Very tasty. After a pleasant meal we returned to the Hilton and spent the afternoon in the bar using their internet and drinking the occasional wine. At 5pm we retrieved our luggage and headed to Fremantle in a taxi. We arrived there about 5-45 and soon dropped our suitcases off and entered the large terminal building thronging with people. It was not long before our number was called and we could go through the boarding procedures. Once on board we found our cabin, 9065, and our luggage was waiting at the door. The cabin is rather small compared o some other ships we have been on but this is a budget cruise and we are comfortable enough. We went to Angelo's, the Italian complimentary restaurant where we had a lovely three course meal. The ship was on its way about 8pm and after a nightcap in the bar we retired to our cabin , looking forward to the next ten days.

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