A DAY AT ROTTNEST

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ROTTNEST ISLAND

One of the most difficult things about cruising is choosing what to do in port. The choice was especially hard in Perth. This is a dynamic city and deserves a through look. The post is Fremantle. It also has an interesting history and a thriving night scene. But since my focus has been on wine and wildlife I chose to spend the day at Rottnest Island.
A forty-minute ferry ride brought us to the island along with many of the workers who commute to work. I was traveling with Tamara, a retired performing arts professor from Washington State. She is also traveling without her husband and we have similar tastes. We bought a day pass and boarded the bus. This is a great way to get acquainted with the island and plan my day. We passed snorkel beaches and surfing beaches, mooring coves and a condo complex but our quest was the same, to find and capture a picture of a Quokka.
These little mammals are like miniature Wallabies, no bigger than our cat Moseby. They are nocturnal and we were told to look under the trees and maybe, if we were lucky, we see them. We got off the bus and took a walk through the bush. We had expected this to be a path but it was a paved bicycle and pedestrian walkway and there we met our Quokka. He was out foraging and was quite content for us to follow him about and take lots of pictures.
We followed the track back to the town called The Settlement, and I jumped on the bus again to find a place to snorkel. By this time all the holiday families were doing beach time so I passed up the popular coves for a wonderful one called Little Salmon Bay. Here the water was brilliant varied blues and greens, the sand white and powdery and the coral heads clearly visible. The water was refreshing but the snorkeling was disappointing as I was trying out my new underwater camera and getting more frustrated by the minute.
My underwater pictures did not come out too well but I will try again and again till I get a better product. The reef was healthy but the varieties of fish were few and not abundant. I’m hoping for more from my next snorkel spot.
Took the bus back to the Settlement and stopped for a bite. Who should be sitting under a neighboring table but Norman a friendly Quokka? The little beggar was looking for a handout and looking too cute. He actually took a bit from my hand. My day was made. The banded lapwing and Australian pelican were just icing on the cake.

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