A visit to Rottnest Island had been on our to-do list since we arrived in Australia. A few weeks ago we finally made the trip. It was fantastic. The island, which sits approximately 11 miles off the coast, was named by Dutch explorers who upon arriving observed it to be infested with giant rats. Hence, the inviting name “Rat Nest Island.” Lucky for us, however, the critters they thought were rats are actually super-cute and friendly marsupials called quokkas. The photos and videos below will give you some sense of the island and how we spent our day there. Just a warning: there may also be a few painfully cute photos of quokkas near the end.
This is Syd and Ang on the ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest Island. (Photo cred: Rich)This is a view of the lighthouse on the island as we approached on the ferry.Most of the island is undeveloped and traffic free–except for a “hop on, hop off” bus that goes around. We took the bus, but we also spent time walking from place to place. (Photo cred: Rich)Here is a beautiful beach on the south side of the island. (Photo cred: Rich)This is us taking in the sights. (Note the intense look of concentration Rich has in every selfie he takes. Photo cred: Rich)Here is a beautiful beach on the south side of the island. (Photo cred: Rich)This is another beach on the south side of the island.This is yet another beach on the south side. The island is surrounded by reefs that are home to many types of fish. The snorkeling is excellent. The video below shows Little Salmon Bay where we stopped to snorkel. (Video cred: Rich)Here, we had an amazing view off the east side of the island.There are many amazing rock formations on the east side.We loved this spot on the west side with turquoise water surrounded by craggy cliffs.And here is the famous quokka! They are completely unafraid of humans. There are about 12,000 of them on the island, and they just hang out as is evidenced in the video below.Here is a quokka hanging out with Syd on the grass.Here is Ang’s quokka selfie.And the winner of the quokka selfie contest is . . . (Photo cred: Rich)After taking the ferry back to the mainland, we jumped on the train to go back to our home-base of Subiaco.
Yes, it was a great day. 🙂 It is about 15 miles around the island on a hilly road. We did circumnavigate it with a combo of using the bus and walking. We only hit a few stops since our snorkeling stop took time (was totally worth it). This was a day trip . . . maybe someday a long weekend on Rottnest will be in order. There is definitely a ton to see!
Ang
Rich
Sydney
Family Afoot (and at Home) 
That looks like a fun day! How big is the island? Between the bus & the walking, were you able to circumnavigate it?
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Yes, it was a great day. 🙂 It is about 15 miles around the island on a hilly road. We did circumnavigate it with a combo of using the bus and walking. We only hit a few stops since our snorkeling stop took time (was totally worth it). This was a day trip . . . maybe someday a long weekend on Rottnest will be in order. There is definitely a ton to see!
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