Rottnest Island

The reason we came to Rottnest Island

With our decision to go to Broom, out time in Perth was limited to two days. One of these had to be a trip to Rottnest Island for its history and the iconic quokkas. The trip began with a 55-minute boat ride to Fremantle where we changed to a larger boat for the 30 minute ride to Rottnest.

Rottnest pier

Bundled up for our Zodiak ride

One of the two island lighthouses

Beautiful coastline

Fur seal haven

New Zealand Fur Seal

Fur seal flippers out of the water to cool the animals

A decades old osprey nest.
They add to them every year.
Unused now because of the fur seals.

Upon our arrival to Rottnest, we changed to a third boat for a whirlwind tour of the north side of the island and a search for whales and to see the New Zealand fur seals. This 90-minute tour was exciting and rough. We were given heavy ponchos to keep us dry as we powered through the heavy waves in our failed search for whales. We did see those shearwaters we had been too early for everywhere else we stopped in southern Australia. The guide had told us that they had not arrived here yet either, but they decided to show up today just for us I guess. We did see the fur seals as they are pretty sedentary and lie about on the rocks on the west end of the island.

Prison entry

Salt lakes are big. Some dry up allowing salt to be easily gathered.

Prison warden used to give parties here on his floating dock

Old Church

Church interior

Old barracks, now a hotel

Old salt house

After returning to the dock we wandered town and had lunch before our quokka tour. Volunteer guides offer a wide variety of tours on the island. Most are historical, but since we wanted to see the quokkas, we made sure we got on this one even though we began to see these little creatures almost as soon as we finished our search for whales. These small marsupials gave the island its name. The Dutch explorer who landed here thought they were actually rats. Our guide led us through town to one of the salt lakes on the island where we saw many more quokkas including a few joeys still hanging out with mom. Rottnest is one of the few areas where these animals still survive as their habitat has been destroyed over most of their traditional homeland. They will continue to survive here because they are protected and the island itself is protected from further development.

These little guys are all over town. 

Tourists are NOT supposed to be feeding them.

The island itself is interesting enough to warrant a return visit, perhaps overnight. It is only ten kilometers from one end to the other. Many of the travelers to the island rent bicycles because it is so small and easy to ride. Several enticing beaches draw swimmers and snorklers.