Cycling in paradise

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- FOOD: Emu bitter; good, cheap Asian grub; free popcorn at the hostel.

- PEOPLE: Know it all family; very few inhabitants.

- AREA: Quokka inhabited, tiny paradise island with hundreds of beautiful, white sand, clear turquoise, coral filled sea bays; plenty of varied greenery and very few buildings. Bike without gears to cycle in heaven. Big king lizards.
Ferries; nice hostel; 'Million Dollar Baby' DVD at the hostel.

- WEATHER: Keep topping up that sunscreen and drinking that water!


Sun 11th Sep: I caught a ferry to Rottnest Island (named from a Dutch man who was first to arrive and thought the 'quokka's' were rats - 'Rat's Nest').
The island is only 11k long and 4k wide so I hired a bike to cycle around it's perimeter under the hot sun. Such BEAUTIFUL bays - many of them, covered in white sand with incredibly clear, turquoise sea surrounding coral. Lots of palm trees and greenery finish this very pretty paradise island. The Aussies say it is one of the nicest beaches in the world - their hype may well be true in this case.

The only town (it's tiny) is down the port end of the island leaving the rest of it free for the animals. The roads were a bit steep in places which made me regret taking the bike without gears - all for the sake of saving 5 bucks. But I didn't care as I was so taken away with the beauty around me. I would've loved to have stayed longer at each bay and viewing point, drinking it all in, but the bike had to be back by 3 and I didn't want it getting grounded.

I was still determined to reach the peninsula however and was looking forward to reaching the water fountain as my measly 500mls just wasn't enough. The water fountain wasn't working!! It was worth the thirst to reach the tip though - I saw big king lizards but still no snakes. The know-it-all family nearby me had of course seen a snake.

The sea was so lovely and calm and there are just so many tiny beaches (I allowed myself to stop at one - it just HAD to be done). I was quite mesmorised by the place. To add to it's beauty, there aren't cars on the island. A shame there is a section where some lego land holiday homes have been built but they are tucked away by the town.
I relaxed with an Emu Bitter after my hard day and discovered that that is where the quokkas hang out - by the food. They are unique to this island and look nothing like rats - was the Dutch man stoned? They are very cute and tame, quite large and determined to get the food!

I caught a ferry back to Fremantle and then another straight to Perth where I had the relief of a NICE YHA hostel to go back to. For an extra 2 dollars I get this chilled out feel and a good room with only one other roommate who was very nice.
Nearby was a good, cheap Asian grub place and then I sat in the hostel lounge to watch 'Million Dollar Baby' - a very good film but another depressing one! Still, the free popcorn cheered me up.

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Comments

[mandajk]

I think i remember this as one of the places Hol loved when she was travelling round Oz. Cant beleive you watched Million Dollar Baby - I saw it at the cinema. Excellent film but probably the most upsetting depressing film i have ever seen xx