Rottnest Island and some very cute Quokkas

---

It was a case of setting the alarm for this morning as we were travelling up to Fremantle in order to catch the Sealink ferry across to Rottnest Island for a day trip - Fremantle is roughly 68kms from Mandurah and we had to be there by 8:30am for a 9:00am departure. All checked in and we enjoyed a very good crossing with only a slight swell for the 18km voyage.







Rottnest Island covers 19sq kilometres (7.3sq miles) and is 11km long and 4.5km at its widest, so it is quite easy to explore either by bike, walking trails or a bus service. There are 900 private moorings in several bays around the Island – we don’t know the cost, however the waiting list is between 12 & 15 years to wait for one to become available.







Once off the ferry we made our way to The Settlement – a cluster of eateries/bars etc as well as accommodation cottages for those staying for more than a day. We were actually surprised at the amount of accommodation available on the Island – the population swells from 334 residents to 15,000 visitors in peak holiday times; we certainly were not aware of that.







Rottnest Quokkas are quite famous and around The Settlement they are everywhere. These marsupials, found primarily on Rottnest, are so tiny, so cute and so very tame – whilst you cannot (should not) touch or feed them they are quite happy to come up to you and are quite inquisitive, sniffing at backpacks/handbags and more than happy to hop around your feet. They are partial to the fruit/nuts of some of the trees that are scattered around a central park and we found one who was happy to nibble away whilst we took a few photos.







There is a very good shuttle bus service that circumnavigates the Island at 1/2hrly intervals. It is a hop on, hop off system which gives you plenty of time to walk and explore a particular bay before the next bus comes along. We bought our day ticket as soon as we arrived, but we wanted to walk up to Bathurst Lighthouse and around the village before we continued on with the rest of the Island.







Once on the bus we did a full lap of the Island first. It takes 1hr to do the full trip, so on our way around we made note of some particularly scenic spots, thinking we would explore them further after lunch. We hopped off first of all at Parker Point and then walked a little distance to Jeannies Lookout and then down to Little Salmon Bay. Once again, the views we nothing short of gob-smacking! Pretty little coves and bays at almost every turn and it was quite easy to fill in the 1/2hr before the next bus came along.







At West End, the farthermost point of the Island we walked the boardwalk to Cape Vlamingh to watch the waves roll in from the Indian Ocean. Just a little walk further on again to Cathedral Rocks and a colony of New Zealand fur seals delighted as they frolicked in the water.







We didn’t have to wait too long for our bus back to The Settlement, arriving in good time to catch the ferry back to Fremantle. Setting the sat.nav we came back to Mandurah via the main Kwinana Freeway and just after 6pm we arrived back home to the caravan. It has been a long day, but one we both thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t doubt we will sleep well tonight.







Tomorrow we have to leave the west coast as we head inland to York. We have found the south west of Western Australia simply beautiful – it is rugged, spectacular, surprising and a bloody long way from home …… but well worth the trip!

---