Rottnest Island, Perth

3 more images

I went out with a local dive centre for a double dive day trip to Rottnest Island. After a 7.30am arrival at the Dive Shop we set out in a minibus towards Fremantle where we were to board a boat for Rottnest Island. The Island is quaint and quite peaceful. Excellent place to walk around or cycle. The diving was pretty good too. Lots of great swim-throughs and I saw several nudibranches. On the island you will see Quokkas (like a mini kangaroo) hopping around happily in the small "town". They are inquisitive buggers...and seem to have no fear of people. There are also peacocks wandering around everywhere. The local pub is an excellent place to spend a few hours and there is pizza shop next door that is worth a visit.

This local inhabitants give their name to Rottnest Island. As the first observation by Dutchmans, Quokka was described as a kind of rat as big as a common cat. So the Island was named the Island 'Rotte nest' in Dutch (meaning 'rat's nest').

The Quokka is a small marsupial and looks like a Wallaby or Kangaroo. It's head is broad but short, with a dark stripe visible on the forehead. They have small, rounded ears covered by fur Its body has long thick shaggy fur normally coloured brown or grey flecked Its hind (Kangaroo like) feet are covered with stiff long hairs. The tail is relatively short and is fairly smooth with little hair on it.

By personal experience, they seem to be greedy, so remember PLEASE DO NOT FEED THEM! see also my warning tips to learn more about.

2 more images

The Quokka was first discovered by a Dutch man in1658 who wrote that it resembled an Asian civet cat, but with brown hair.Later in In 1696 someone else described the quokka as "a kind of rat as big as a common cat" and thus the island was named "Rotte nest" (meaning "rat's nest").

The Quokka is a marsupial about the size of a hare or domestic cat. They are less active during the day and use shrubs for shelter. They give birth after a gestation period of 27 days, in late summer, and the young quokka remains in the pouch until August or September and is then suckled for a further two months. The quokka takes about one and a half to two years to reach maturity.

4 more images

Rottnest Island (Rotto) is a sandy island (11km long, 5 km wide) about 19 km off the coast of Fremantle. It was discovered by the Dutch and was named 'Rats Nest' because of what appeared to be king size rats on the island. These rats are in fact Quokkas which are native wallabies found only on the island. They are usually tame and quite friendly.

1 more image

Strolling along the beaches you may also come across a sun baking seal. The little island offers a variety of activities including snorkelling, scuba diving, cycling, trampolining, golf and mini-golf. No cars are allowed on the island except essential vehicles however you can take a bus around the island on a tour.

Rottnest Island
Just offshore from Perth, great place to wind down from the pressure of modern city life. The island is a popular place for scuba diving, swimming, sailing, golf and hiking. Rottnest Island is a nature reserve where all fauna and flora are protected. Named after the little quokkas (marsupial) which roam all around the island.
Take a ferry from either Barrack Street jetty in Perth, Fremantle or Hillarys.

The Tourist Centre is a must to stop at first when arriving to gather information and maps of the island. You can book tours here also.

Up to 500,000 people visit Rottnest Island each year.