Back in early September we decided to take a short 4 day trip to Rottnest Island. Rottnest for those who don't know is an Island off the coast of Western Australia which takes approximately 30-45 minutes by ferry.
A couple of key points about Rottnest:
There are essentially no cars on the Island outside of support vehicals and a bus that runs the length of the Island. The main method of transport is bicycle which you can rent or bring across on the ferry. This made a perfect place for Owen who wasn't yet 4 to practice his cycling skills and charm the locals doing it.
Rottnest is one of two islands in Western Australia where you can find the Quokka. A cute agreeable marsupial which is everywhere on the Island.
Rottnest was once a military installation and still has some of the original equipment (A massive gun that was installed to protect the Submarines that were stationed at Fremantle - the second largest installation in the world only to Pearl Harbour during the second world war) as well as some of the tunnels that were built to support the installation.
September meant we had the Island nearly to ourselves AND that the weather may not be the model of consistency that Western Australia was normally known for. On the third evening the Wind exceeded 100km's an hour. The following day, which was supposed to include our journey out the Ferrys were cancelled providing another day (at no cost) on the Island. I can't say that we didn't enjoy being stranded an extra day. :)
I highly recommend the trip to Rottnest!
A couple of other notes:
We stayed at the Geordie Bay Cabins on the Island which are self contained with kitchens and bbq's and all have a view of the Indian Ocean over Geordie Bay. They are basic, rustic and everything worked. The cabins are about a 10-15 minute bike ride from the main town. Luggage service was provided with the ferry ticket.
We brought an esky / cooler with food for the trip. Food is quite expensive on the Island.
A couple of key points about Rottnest:
There are essentially no cars on the Island outside of support vehicals and a bus that runs the length of the Island. The main method of transport is bicycle which you can rent or bring across on the ferry. This made a perfect place for Owen who wasn't yet 4 to practice his cycling skills and charm the locals doing it.
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Rottnest is one of two islands in Western Australia where you can find the Quokka. A cute agreeable marsupial which is everywhere on the Island.
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| Hello Quokka |
Rottnest was once a military installation and still has some of the original equipment (A massive gun that was installed to protect the Submarines that were stationed at Fremantle - the second largest installation in the world only to Pearl Harbour during the second world war) as well as some of the tunnels that were built to support the installation.
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| Gun from World War II....it had a ~30km range |
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| Storm coming in.... |
September meant we had the Island nearly to ourselves AND that the weather may not be the model of consistency that Western Australia was normally known for. On the third evening the Wind exceeded 100km's an hour. The following day, which was supposed to include our journey out the Ferrys were cancelled providing another day (at no cost) on the Island. I can't say that we didn't enjoy being stranded an extra day. :)
I highly recommend the trip to Rottnest!
A couple of other notes:
We stayed at the Geordie Bay Cabins on the Island which are self contained with kitchens and bbq's and all have a view of the Indian Ocean over Geordie Bay. They are basic, rustic and everything worked. The cabins are about a 10-15 minute bike ride from the main town. Luggage service was provided with the ferry ticket.
We brought an esky / cooler with food for the trip. Food is quite expensive on the Island.
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| Geordie Bay |
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