Today, Rottnest Island, is a protected nature preserve, that has white sand beaches, secluded coves, shallow waters, and is home to a small, cute marsupial called a quokka. Rotto has now become extremely popular with holiday goers during the summer season. The island is car-free, and the best way to get around is by bicycle, or the hop-on-hop-off bus. There are also many hiking trails for the brave, energetic ones.
So, on our 4th trip to Australia, we finally made the decision to ferry over to Rotto and see what all the fuss is about.
We took the 45 minute ferry over to Rotto, from The Hillarys which is very close to Jess and Catlin's house.
This is our ferry. It is very comfortable, and smooth sailing. On the way we were entertained with the hilarious movie of Mr. Bean! It is really quite a funny show!
First glimpses of Rotto as we disembark from the ferry to a place called The Settlement.
Pedal and Flipper Shop, for all your needs concerning bicycling, paddle boarding, snorkeling, and strollers.
With our bicycles rented we hit the road to see what we could discover. We found many low-key rentals. My kind of place!
Lots of elbow space for cycling!
Rottnest Island played a military role in both World Wars. It was used as an internment and Prisoner of War camp from 1914-1915, and in 1940 during the war period, administrative fire command staff and a coastal gunnery school occupied Rottnest Island. The guns were manned 24/7.
Pieces of an 1800's sunken ship can be seen by the closest post in the picture. Downtown Perth can be seen in the background.
Military dwellings
A tourist train supposedly runs every day to show the guns and tunnels, but we never saw it.
This trail is for bird watches. I love watching birds, but I am more terrified of Aussie snakes. I'll watch birds from the road!
Sand dunes galore!
Many, many Quokkas, which are small marsupials, can be seen on the island. They are very tame, to the point of domestication. It is the only animal native to the island, and is mainly nocturnal, and prefers the shade during the day. People can be seen taking selfies with these little cuties. But not me! I prefer them to be wild!
Our cycling journey was quite demanding with the roads being quite up and down with hills, and the temperature hitting close to 30 degrees celsius, so when we saw this gem of a beach we parked the bikes, and had a cool down in ocean. What a beautiful little beach!
This truck goes around picking up rented bikes from people who have opted to ride the bus after discovering their the cycling journey has become too challenging. What a great option, but we soldiered on! Stubborn Germans!
If you look closely you can see an eagle sitting on this massive nest.
We made it to the lighthouse. Quite an uphill climb! I walked my bike, and Hoss powered on.
Beautiful views from the top of the lighthouse hill.
These dried up sulfur lakes are very stinky! Hopefully, during the winter, rain will prevail and fill them up.
This sad lonely place is filled with dead children, the youngest being 10 days old. There was an outbreak of influenza and measles that I'm sure claimed these poor children. One young adult, age 26, died from drowning.
This is the Rottnest Hotel. So nice to see it isn't grandiose. All the accommodations on the island are quite basic and are filled with all the comforts of home.
Back to the area called The Settlement where there are restaurants, parks, a very well stocked General Store, and a place to have a beer!
What a great day! We loved Rotto. Hopefully, we will come again another year and maybe stay for a couple of nights!
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