Spring Break Pt. II - Rottnest Island (Western Australia)

I think that for most of us from the northern hemisphere, the word "Australia" tends to conjure up images of the Sydney opera house or the great barrier reef. Those two features are both on the eastern side of the continent. For our spring break, Emily and I spent our vacation on the other side of the country in Perth (see map). Perth has been described as the "most remote city in the world." After doing some reading, I've discovered that Honolulu is perhaps more worthy of this distinction. Still, it is the only city of its size in Western Australia, and is closer to Jakarta, Indonesia than to Sydney. The point is: it's pretty isolated.

We had only booked two nights in our Perth hotel (which was fortunate, as it was a complete dump), and since we had arrived in the evening, we were really only left with 1 full day in the city. After doing some research, we had decided to spend that day on Rottnest Island.
Rottnest is an island in the Indian Ocean, a little over 10 miles off Perth's coastline. The city of Perth is still visible from some parts of the island (see above), but it feels as if it were light years away. As it's only a half hour ferry ride from Perth, it's become a popular beach destination for day trippers from the city.
There are no private cars allowed on Rottnest, so the most popular way to get around is by bicycle. There are excellent bike paths circling the island, and as it's only a little over 20 kilometers around the whole thing, distances are just right to make for a good day's bike ride. Em and I rented bikes and snorkel gear as a part of our ferry tickets, packed a backpack full of sandwiches and water, and set out for a full Sunday of exercise in the sunshine.

We'd picked a sunny 85 degree Sunday to explore Rottnest. We had expected the place to be fairly busy, being a warm weekend. We were wrong. Although we occasionally passed other couples on bicycles, we felt like we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The main bike path mostly hugs the island's coastline, and as we went, we found that there were beautiful little beaches spaced about every 5km of the trip. The above beach was the first one we came across. Being the closest beach to the "town" that we'd sailed into, it was also the busiest one we visited that day. I think the above photo pretty well captures the level of activity on the beach that day.

After about an hour's ride in the sun (with frequent stops to take in the jaw-dropping beauty of the turquoise waters and white sand beaches), we had made it about a third of the way around the island. We found a shady spot on the side of the bike path and decided to have a picnic. We'd stopped at a grocery store in Perth before boarding the boat (as there are only restaurants in the main town, and we assumed they'd be pretty expensive).

As we ate, it struck me as one of the most relaxed and memorable meals I'd eaten in the past year. It turned out to be one of many such meals in Australia. We only ate one meal out during our entire 8 days in Australia (the Australian dollar is at an all time high right now, so we were trying to save some money). The rest of our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were self-catered, nearly all of which were eaten outdoors. It was very relaxing.

Helen - this photo is for you. Along with sandwich stuff, we made sure to buy "Tim-Tams" for our first lunch in Oz (based solely on Helen's advice). In the above photo, Emily's enjoying her first Tim Tam. I should probably say "first of many," as we wound up buying about one package of these beauties every other day. For those of you who haven't been fortunate enough to try a Tim Tam, Lonely Planet describes them as "a chocolate biscuit that lies close to the heart of most Australians." I couldn't have said it better myself. Basically, it's a chocolate cookie covered in more chocolate, sometimes with a bit of mint or other flavoring added. Having discovered that Australia was capable of producing such a delectable cookie, I was shocked to remember that "Vegemite" is their most (in)famous culinary export. (apologies to our Australian friends who enjoy that green goo. I still can't seem to develop a taste for yeast extract on my morning toast).

Although it was a warm day, there was a good breeze on Rottnest while we were there. So it wasn't until early afternoon that we found a small bay with enough protection from the wind to be able to try out the snorkel gear we'd rented. Most of you will remember that I (Brad) am allergic to sunshine, and mindful of this, I'd brought my 0.5mm wetsuit along on the trip so that I could enjoy a day's snorkeling on the island. Emily brought only a bathing suit, and was surprised at the cool temperature of the water. She ventured in up to about her waist before she let out a shriek and ran back to the beach to sunbathe. Happily insulated in my wetsuit, I spent quite awhile exploring some of the world's most southerly coral reefs and watching the colorful fish that call Rottnest home.
With the exception of a sailboat that had anchored in the bay, we were the only people on this beautiful stretch of beach.
We decided to mark the occasion with a picture.
By the time we got back around to our starting point (the tiny town where the ferry dock was), it was late afternoon and the sun was already casting long shadows across the harbor. We reluctantly turned in our bikes, a little upset that we had seen almost no sign of the animals that give the island its name. They're called "Quokkas," although the first Dutch explorers to reach the island had (understandably) mistaken them for oversized rats. Hence the name "Rottnest" (or "Rats' Nest"). We'd seen only one of these rodent-like marsupials during our ride around the island (and it had been concealed in some pretty dense underbrush). With only an hour left before boarding the ferry, we were a little disappointed. And then we walked into town. There were quokkas everywhere, mostly eating the scraps underneath tables at outdoor restaurants. I must've taken a couple dozen pictures of the little guys. Emily can confirm that at least one Australian couple laughed out loud at my quokka fascination. I think it looked a bit like a tourist coming to an American city and obsessing over squirrels and pigeons. Laugh all you want. I'm willing to bet that I'm the first person from Mukilteo, Washington to see a quokka.
After a full day of biking, snorkeling, and cataloging exotic wildlife, we headed back to Perth. That evening, we enjoyed our only meal out at an amazing little brewpub called "Little Creatures" on the water in Fremantle (south of Perth). It goes without saying that I bought a t-shirt.

The next morning was the beginning of our camper-van adventure, which we'll discuss in the next couple of posts.

We always love hearing your comments. Here's a possible topic if you're having trouble thinking of something to say: Tim-Tams were undoubtedly the "theme food" of our Australia trip. Do you have a vacation memory in which one food stands out as representative of that whole trip? Share that memory with us!