We took a ferry out to a small island just off Perth, called Rottnest Island. The island is only 11 kilometers by 5 kilometers and is an easy day of bike exploring. We rented some bikes and snorkel gear and went for a ride to find a nice place to post ourselves for the day. We picked a cool name on the map and it could not have been any better! We had the entire beach to ourselves!!!! It was so serene and the water was see-through turquoise as far as the eye could see. For some reason all the other beaches were packed and there was no one on this one! It was a bit of a hike on sand dunes to get to, but so, so, so worth the extra effort. We spent the day snorkeling, swimming and lying in the sun. We saw a stingray and a bunch of fish. It was cool to see a completely different type of reef. The Great Barrier was all hard coral and was pretty much a big rock in the ocean, but here it was all soft coral and seaweed.
Once, while Matt was out swimming around the bend and I had the beach to myself, I burnt my cheeks and am now regretting it. It hurts to sit down. Ouch!
Rottnest is the home to a rare marsupial called the quokka. They are little animals that almost look like a cross between a rat and a kangaroo. They are everywhere on the island and some even climb on you…obviously the ones near the restaurants. They are cute until they get on you and then they are a bit creepy, but it was neat to see such a rare species of animal.
The bike ride took us around the island and around every corner was something new and spectacular. There were about 10 shipwrecks around the island and we took a glass bottom boat to see 2 of them. There were also a couple sticking out of the water that you could see from the shore. Unfortunately all the ones you were allowed to snorkel on were packed with people or on the east side of the island where the waves were too big to brave. I guess it’s OK since we had a beach to ourselves….
After Rottnest we drove to a town called York and stayed the night at a caravan park. The people who ran the caravan park were the nicest people we have come across so far and even said it was a pleasure having us stay there. Ha. Pretty funny since we came in two hours after they closed and took them away from whatever they were doing. We’re exhausted and should sleep well tonight.
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