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Published: November 24th 2005
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When you’re in Perth, an absolute MUST is to take a trip to Rottnest Island (known locally as Rotto). It’s a breathtakingly beautiful little island located off the West coast about 20 kms from Perth / Fremantle. It’s only about 11km long and 5km wide, and although there is a road which takes you all the way round, there are only about 5 cars on the island - making it perfect for cycling. The waters around Rotto look like Barbados - pure turquoise and azure blue, and are pretty shallow in most parts. Inland, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re on a British moorland, with lots of scrub and bushes. Only much sunnier of course!
Bushman & Sheila Shaz took a two day trip there on Monday & Tuesday - booking boat, bike, and bed through Torque Cruises (from Barrack Street Jetty in Perth) for an internet price of around 40 pound per person - total bargain compared to organising everything individually.
The boat from Perth takes about 1.5 hours, and cruises up the Swan River to Fremantle passing all sorts of posho houses and estates. Was dead funny as there is a live commentary on the
boat by this young lass, who tells you all the gossip about the owners and how much money they are worth and any scandals they’ve been involved in, along with some regular tour guide boring stuff. We sat at the back in the open compartment catching the fresh salty breeze and watching the world as we cruised past in the early morning light. T’was lovely. Once past Fremantle, the boat speeds up and you’re into the open ocean - and a very windy morning it was, making the boat sway about in the heavy waves. It was magic - much different to the trip we took back from Ko Tao in Thailand which was all gray and murky - this was exhilarating and exciting! Makes such a difference when the sun shines.
Approaching Rotto, we were gripped by how stunning the seascape is. Honestly - you would think you were in the Carribean. Even out in the open water, the colouring is really light and bright, and must be fairly shallow as you can practically see the sand below you. Once we arrived, we were given our bikes & helmets for the two days, and off we set on
our investigations. On the first day we cycled the whole way round the island, stopping occasionally to have some water, some fruit, and maybe a short break on a secluded beach. There is hardly anyone else there, and you could easily find your own bay for the whole day we reckon. During one stop we made, sheila Shaz embarked on a white shell collection spree, and plans to send her pickings home to keep as a memento of her splendid time on this stunning isle. The only thing that made the going rough was the hills - there are a few, and this was tiring at times. However, when the going got too tough, we hopped off and took the easy option of walking the bikes to the top and freewheeling down the other side. Bloody flies were doing or nappers in again though. So cheeky they are - they hitch a ride down the hills on your bike helmet, and continue their barrage of buzzing in your face once you reach the bottom. Gggggrrrrrrr!!!!!!
We were staying in the YHA at Kingstown Barracks - a converted military barrack set outside the main settlement area by about 1km, which
was fairly basic, but quiet-ish and clean. We were a bit hacked off though, as we arrived at the hostel after a big cycle round all day (knackeroonied) and tried to check in, only to see a sign on the reception door telling us that we’d need to check in at the Tourist Info office back at the boat pier. The air was blue when we realised that we’d need to get back on our bikes and head into town again. Fussin mussin etc..!!! Anyway - it wasn’t so bad and before we knew it we’d sorted everything out and collapsed into our kips for a well earned rest.
That night we headed off to the Quokka Arms for excellent fish & chips and a couple of Swan Draught halfs. While we were in there, they had the big screen TV on showing the final of Aussie Pop Idol. Things are so much more fabulous here though - it was set outside the Sydney Opera House and looked amazing! Kate won by the way - she was quite good and managed to hold a tune.
Quokkas
Must tell you about the Quokkas. The island plays home to these
Beach at Nancy Cove
Paradise found. We were thinking that all the colours look like a quality bathroom combo cute little marsupials which are not found anywhere else in the world (except zoos). There are about 10,000 of them on Rotto, and some of them are really quite tame. They look a cross between a big cat, a wallaby, and a rat - sounds scary, but actually they are absolutely adorable - coming over to you at your dinner table sniffing gently for a snack. You’re not supposed to feed them though, so we didn’t. We wanted to get some shots of the Quokks but they are out in force when it gets dark, and we didn’t have our cameras with us at night - so we only got a couple of shots that don’t do them justice.
Our second day in Rotto was much a much more laid back affair - we went fishing!! What a brilliant day we had. Bushman hired a fishing rod for the day, and sheila Shaz bought a hand reel as she was a complete novice and thought she’s start at the bottom. We purchased some prawn bait and headed for a rocky deserted pier to try our hand at catching some dinner. Bushman nearly died from disbelief when literally 3 seconds
after dropping her line into the water, sheila Shaz got a bite and landed herself a little fishy!!! Honestly - you could have knocked us down with a feather - talk about beginners luck! Anyway - it was too small so we took the hook out and threw it back in. Bushman thought to himself that this was an omen of good things to come. NOT. The rest of the day we ended up feeding the fishes of Rotto; either the prawns were rubbish bait, or the fishes were incredibly adept at nibbling the meat from the hook without going near the metal. Darnit! However, it was still really good fun.
All too soon, it was time to head back to the ferry to catch the last boat home of the day at 4pm. The trip back was ace - we got totally soaked as the waves were so big, and we were outside again. We were wet through! On the approach to Perth, some windsurfers caught our wake and sped along behind us - it looked so cool with the silvery afternoon light behind them and we caught some pics.
We’re back in Perth now, but tomorrow
we are heading south for a two week driving trip to the wine region of Margaret River, and South west coastlines of Albany and Esperance. After that we’ll head back up to Perth via Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the outback, and we hope to see Wave Rock on the way.
Thanks everyone for your emails and comments on the blog - we love that you are keeping an interest in our travels!
Will update as soon as we can with some news from our next leg, until then, Ta-ra!
Bushman McCabe & Sheila Shaz. xx
PS: warning - the photos are very blue!!!
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Steven RW
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Oh for a moment in paradise!
Rottnest looks awesome! A friend sent some pics back when he was over in W.A. flying and some of them were ariel shots of rottnest. Hopefully you will get to the Whitsunday Islands off the east coast at some point. They are equally gorgeous and many have no roads at all. I do recall the pesky flies! They are an issue all over Australia my worst experience being on Fraser Island with 70 on my back at once (photo available to honour the horrible moment!) I hope you guys keep the originals from your digicam as I would like to see the full size versions of many of your pictures. Happy Travels :D RW