Day Trippin'

I was able to spend a fun Sunday on Rottnest Island with two lovely ladies, Anna and Iveta. Rottnest (aka “Rotto” in typical Aussie style of shortening everything!) is located 18 km (11 miles) off the coast of Western Australia, nearest to Fremantle (south of Perth). We took a ferry with many other people headed there, which took about 30 minutes on a very windy and wavy day. (No worries, I didn’t get sick....but someone else did, which smelled lovely!) Rotto is a very popular holiday destination for West Australians, and many go over for a day of relaxation, like we did. Note: All of the information contained in this blog is a combination of online research, personal experience, and from my own personal tour guide, Anna.

Along with day trippers, Rotto is also popular with school leavers (graduates) who celebrate at the end of their exams in November (called “Leavers week” or “Leavers”).

Rottnest got its name from a Dutch captain, who called it “Rattenest”, meaning Rat’s Nest in Dutch. The rats he was referring to were not rats at all, but Quokkas. Quokkas are small marsupials in the macropod family, same as kangaroos and wallabies. I have never seen one before this, mostly due to the fact that they are pretty rare, only found in southwestern Australia and mostly just on a few islands such as Rottnest. To me, they kind of look like a cross between a tiny kangaroo and a rabbit.  They are nocturnal so we only saw a few, but they are really not afraid of people.

The Dutch were not the first to find the island though, as is usually the case. The Noongar Aboriginals called it “Wadjemup,” meaning “the place across the water.” 

The island also has more history than just a tourist destination. It was used as an Aboriginal prison for men and boys up through the 1930s. It also has quite a military history in both World Wars in housing enemy aliens (WWI - German and Austrian, and WWII – Italian). Also during WWII, several sites were manned with large guns for defence of the Fremantle Port. Fremantle was the major base for the Allies in the Indian Ocean, and any enemy could be attacked from the island before coming into range of the port. We didn’t take a look at any of the guns or military sites, but maybe next time I’m there. We did have a laugh about the railroad, wondering why such a small island needed one….turns out it was to transport ammunition to the guns.

Now the island is mostly recreational. No cars allowed (except for a few delivery trucks for the businesses, and buses). Basically it is for relaxing, snorkelling, swimming, and cycling. We spent the day riding bikes, looking for quokkas, taking pictures of the beautiful coastline, and swimming in the Indian Ocean – not a bad way to spend a Sunday!