Rotto!
Rottnest Island, Wadjemup as it is known to the original land owners, the Whadjuk Noongar people. Wadjemup means ‘place across the water where the spirits are’, as the guys at Rottnest Island kindly informed me. It is a cute little island an hour’s ferry ride from Perth, Western Australia.
This island is most famously known for being the Home of the Quokka! A what? A Quokka… A super cute and super friendly / fluffy-looking marsupial who loves to taking selfies with tourists. These guys are so so so so so cute and they looks so cudddllllyyyy… BUT, man when there is a group of them and they fight, they are loud and vicious, and claws come out and as a human you kinda wanna run away! But all in all, they are amazingly cute and yes I have a thousand pics with them! Okay, maybe not a thousand as I only really saw about 12 the whole day, but I did get the time to take a lot of pics to get my selfie!
But other than quokkas, Rottnest Island is a beautiful little remote island – it has no cars, just bicycles, a hop on / off bus and ranger vehicles. The island has:
- Amazing countless white sand beaches and coves, which are all pretty much deserted at times… and yes I got to have my own private beach at most beaches for most parts of the day.
- Water is amazing with crystal clear blue waters, which means visibility is stunning for snorkeling – there is no coral, but the fish and underwater marine life and ecosystems is super neat as you don’t need to go out far to see where the underwater world
- Lots of awesome spots for surfing
- A nice cycling track around the island with hills and dips…or you can WALK it or hop on the shuttle
- SNAKES!!! Yes lots of snakes…
- Accommodation options – yes, you can stay there – you can stay in some of the converted buildings from the settlements
The island also has an amazing and at time not so pleasant history from the original land owners, to maritime periods to white settlement, barracks and imprisonment….
How do you get to Rotto?
I did a lot of research this time… as most would know I am a bit of a TIGHT-ASS when it comes to paying for flights, buses, trains and fares. I will look at every possible option that maximizes value for money against time taken to commute plus time taken to spend at the destination! Getting to Rottnest is not the cheapest, to get there it easily costs $100+ just for the ferry and entrance and then adding in a bike and snorkel hire. NB – the entrance fee is collected by the Government and it helps with the conservation of the island.
Ferry options:
- Perth City – Elizabeth Quay. This option is closest to town, but takes the longest on the boat and you don’t get to spend as much time there as the departure times from each point are quite limiting.
- Fremantle Jetty – It’s about a 30 minute drive from town, on PT that’s an hour and the ride ferry trip is about an hour. But not a bad option if you want to end up at Fremantle post ROTTO so you can check out FREO.
- Hillary’s – It’s about 30 minutes drive from town, on PT an hour. But one company does a FREE SHUTTLE pickup from town to Hillary’s. And then the timetable is awesome, I end up with a whole day at ROTTO!
So I took the later option with Rottnest Fast Ferries, as they had an awesome timetable, a FREE pickup and also they had an amazing deal. On Thursdays you could get a return ferry trip and bike hire included for $69! And this price includes the national park entry fee into the island. All other providers are charging into the $100+ your bike hire on top and they don’t offer a free transfer to the terminal.
But be warned if you choose this options, so to max out your day there – I choose to go from Hillary’s my pickup was at 6.30am so that I could catch the 7.30am ferry. It’s actually quit easy, but it leads to a super long day:
- Pickup from YHA Perth City to go to Hillary’s.
- Once at Hillary’s Pier, you check-in and grab all your gear – bike in my case as I already packed a snorkel with me from Sydney.
- Walk the bike down the wharf to the ferry and the ferry guys load it on for you. All the bikes have a printed name tag, so you won’t actually pick up someone else’s. Plus the bikes do also come with a bike lock and a helmet – safety first
- Hop on the ferry…. snooze a bit. It’s freezing on the ferry, rug up
- Get off the ferry and pick up your biked and explore
Tips:
- Get on the ferry last, as it means your bike gets loaded last and you get to start exploring first!
- Make sure you get a map of the island or take a pic of it as holding it around all day it starts to disintegrate
- Stock up once your arrive at Rotto… the bakery does amazing pies and also fuel up. It’s 1/2 an island ride away to the next shops!
Sightseeing Time
Lighthouses
There are 2 main lighthouses on the island, both are pretty neat to check out. But as their are still fully functioning, you can not go in them. Bathurst Point is located on the East side of the island and then you’ve got a larger one in the middle of the island which I did not quite make it to!
Beaching Life & Snorkelling
Snorkellllliiinggg, Snorrkeeelllling, Snorkeeelllliiinggg… So I was on the island at the end of March, which is the start of Autumn. Even though the weather is quite warm, the water is FREEEZZZZING!!! Took me a while to work out why all the school groups on the island all had rashies on… Once you’re in the water for about 5-10 minutes you literally are freezing your tits off! It is so cold and crisp and refreshing… Max I could do each time in and out in just a bikini was about 15 minutes and even then you end up with goosebumps, wrinkly fingers and chattering… But the underwater world is so neat to see and you don’t have to go out far off the beach… 10-20 metres off shore and it’s amazing – fishes, seaweed, little ecosystems.
Beaching and Bays!
So I did get to go to a few bays… a few beaches of which they become my little private beach! Imagine these places on a bright sunny day … the colours, the warmth and that feeling of being in the middle of no where… chilllleeed out to the max.
Tip:
- Remember you are on an island, so make sure you pack everything you need! Book, water, snacks, towel, sunscreen, shades, music!
- If you are snorkeling, just be aware of where you are, there are NO LIFEGUARDS here – beaches and bays are all un-attended.
Bike Riding
So I opted ride around the island rather than take the hop on and hop off shuttle. Got as far as doing the big loop around the island. Kind of had time to the smaller loop but was conscious that I needed to make it back to the FERRY on time or else it is Rotto overnight! Since the bikes are not that flash, they do have gears, but got to say some of the HILLS and DROPS, you do need to use push those legs a bit harder! Plus riding in the fresh un-polluted air and doing some real close up site seeing and being able to stop wherever you want is part of the fun.
Also the rides get a bit interesting when you hear RATTLING and noises from the grass… it’s NOT THE WIND! or when you see a snake that decides to slither out from the kerb and you freak out going : OMG is it coming to me or goin back in??!!?!?! F@##$%@R#Q!!!! ” PEEEDDDDDLLLEEE POWER!!! Trying to move my short stumpy legs as quick as possible!
And then of course running over a green tree snake then not realising it then going “holy crap where has it gone?” – But again it is all a part of being in NATURE… and as most of you know, I obviously LOVE creepie crawlies, NOT!
And check out the trees, mother nature and the winds from the sea!
QUOOOOKKKAAAAASSSSSS
Oh my god!!!! These little guys are so cuttteeee!! I want too bag one and take it home with me, just kidding! So glad that they are still around and not extinct and that they are in their own natural habitat. So quokkas are supposed to be the happiest animals on earth and you’ll see below why! But watching them in their natural habitat is so neat…. them foraging for food. You are not supposed to feed these guy, ie dont give them foreign matter. I did however pick some leaves from neighbouring trees for them…as the don’t quite can climb up trees like possums and squirrels! So the greenest leaves, they don’t always get.
A lot of visitors have been seen to feed them human food, a BIG NO NO! And you do get fined as well.
VIDEO: Check out this little man munching away! – nom nom nommmmm
And besides lots of snakes on the islands, be careful of the SPIDERS!
Towards the end of the day was super luck to have spotted a little family close to the main town area of Rotto. These guys were adorable… and they had a bit of a quarrel but this little guy was so so so cute and check out that SMILLLLEEEE!!!! ♥ melts your heart eh?
Food
So definitely fuel up at Rottnest Bakery upon landing on-shore and at pre-departure, after all you can never have enough pies and you can help the local community! Plus stop by at Simmo’s for some awesome ice cream, after all what is a beach day and island hopping without i-scream? ♥
But there are other options on the island – there is a Pub, a Dome Coffee Shop, a fullly stocked supermarket, countless little restaurants and take-away type establishments. But most of these are located near the ferry terminal. The closest eatery and supermarket is then 1/2 way across the island!
ADIOS!
Time just seems to disappear when you’re out at Rotto, it’s so remote and peaceful except when you hear the snakes rattling in the grass. It’s a it sad to leave but back to the mainland we go and the ferry ride back is also stunning when your on the outer deck!
