Rottnest Island

After returning from Margaret River, Adam and Emily had to head back to work for a few days leaving Bec and I to tour around Perth by ourselves. We spent some relaxing time on the beach and walked around the beach front shops and restaurants on one of the days. The other day, we took a ferry across to Rottnest Island.

Rottnest Island originally was used as a place for Aboriginal prisoners and a boy's reformatory - very similar to Alcatraz. It is now considered a National Park and protected conservatory for local flora and fauna. And this is exactly why we decided the best way to see the island was by bike (30k total in diameter).

The ferry ride over was a quick 30 minute trip and extremely amusing thanks to the drunk-at-8am-man causing a scene and the large group of tattooed Italian men hanging off the back of the boat. We were expelled from the boat into the 39*C (102* F) scorching climate. After waiting in an enormous line, we chose our helmets, paid the deposit, reassured the guys working the bike hire that yes, I was fully capable of riding a bike in a walking cast - and we were off! The ride was flat for the most part, but the came the hills! Coming around a bend in the road and looking ahead to a steep upward climb with sweat streaming down my face was not the most enjoyable feeling, but there were the payoffs. The water was so incredibly clear, you could see the coral and fish from the road - so naturally we had to get it. After locking up our bikes and donning our snorkel gear, there were a couple of stop off points to cool off and investigate the fish and coral from the icy cold water.

Back on the bikes after our swim, we headed to the very western edge of the island and took a rest out on the pier overlooking what we deemed looked like a mermaid's lair.

While we sat there, a huge wave came in, crashing through the center of the rock formation and literally took our breaths away. The formation was directly across from this cove - it had to be my favorite spot on the island.

One interesting fact about the island are the "Quokkas," by definiton: the only member of the genus Setonix, is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. They are an endangered species, mostly because of the introduction of ferile cats to the island years ago (and the cats ate the Quokkas!) - not to mention all the tourists now visiting the island feeding them fruit gummies and french fries (yes we witnessed this first hand...)
The island is one of the two places in Australia they still exist, so they are now protected on the island (along with the two peacocks that are always present on the island. When one dies, another one takes his place...who knows the reason? We were fortunate enough to see some of these delightfully ugly little creatures, and of course had to stop to take pictures in case they become extinct one day - we can say we saw them!

After finishing our lap completely around the island, we decided to take a break for some food and a cold water at a local restaurant. It started to rain while we were sitting there, which was a refreshing way to cool the whole island down. The heat was well worth the beautiful blue skies and perfectly clear waters. We went for one more snorkel and then it was time to head home.

That evening, although we were utterly exhausted, Emily and Adam invited two other friends over and we had a big BBQ in the back yard. It ended up being a fun and exciting way to finish off the week - right before we were meant to head north to Monkey Mia for New Years!