Rottnest Island

Rottnest Coastline at Thomson Bay

We decided to take our bikes over to Rottnest and ride around the island. As our caravan park was relatively close to the ferry terminal, we rode the 4 Km from the park along the waterfront. This was an experience to see the old heritage buildings alongside the modern and all the boating facilities.

Cycling Around Rottnest

The Rottnest Express ferry trip takes about 25 minutes to travel the 19Km from Fremantle and costs $65.00 return for seniors. This also includes the "landing fee". Seemed a bit expensive to me but there's no other way of getting there. The ferries are very modern with TVs, food outlet, and comfortable seating. They run a few times in the morning and a few return trips later in the afternoon. No cars are allowed on the island so the only ways to get around are walk, cycle or bus. The normal thing is to hire bikes (they literally have hunderds for hire) or catch the hop on hop off bus. We were definitley in the minority with our own bikes.

Peter & Diane at Salmon Bay - Rottnest

The distance around the island's circuit road is about 24Km. Around the island there are 63 beaches and 20 bays, all with pristine waters and great scenery. We set off from the main area at Thomson Bay and intending to take about 4 hours to do the lap.

Porpoise Bay at Rottnest

Even though it was a coolish weekday, there were several other people doing the same as us. Cycling around the island is definitely the best way to go as you can make your own pace. The bus operates on a good schedule and you can get off at various locations, see the area, and get on the next one. There are several walking tracks off the main road enabling you to easily get to the beaches.

The Beautiful Waters of Porpoise Bay

View from Wadjemup Lighthouse

The water supply on the island is a combination of harvested rainwater, underground supplies and a desalinated groundwater system using the reverse osmosis process. Their electricity comes from wind turbines and a diesel generator system.The wind turbines deliver 37% of the island's requirements.

In 1996 Rottnest introduced the first public place recycling program in Western Australia. In 2000 the island won the 3R awards (reduce, reuse and recycle). A daily supply barge - Spinifex - makes a return trip from Fremantle, delivering supplies and removing rubbish.

Rottnest's Beautiful Geordie Bay

Rottnest Island was inhabited by Aboriginal people from about 30,000 years ago, until rising sea levels separated the island from the mainland of Western Australia approximately 7,000 years ago. The island was observed by the Dutch from 1610 with the first landing in 1658 The island was given the name "Rattenest" (meaning "rat's nest" in  Dutch) by the Dutch fleet captain Willem de Vlamingh on 29 December 1696. De Vlamingh described the indigenous marsupial, called a quokka, as a large rat.

Government House Lake on Rotnest

The eastern end of the island near the lighthouse, has some freshwater lakes. The colours are fascinating. One of them is a pink lake, the one next to it is bright blue. For whatever reason only one of the lakes contains  bacteria that create the pink colour.The lakes are populated by many different species of water birds and plants.

Lighthouse Keepers House from Bathurst Lighthouse

Rottnest was the site of an internment camp in both World War I and II. In WWI it was mostly used for German and Austrian suspected enemy aliens, before being closed towards the end of the war due to poor conditions. Also during World War II, two 9.2-inch guns were installed near the middle of the island at Oliver Hill, for defence of the Fremantle port. Two 6-inch guns were also installed at Bickley Point. The location of the island was seen as being crucial to the defence of the important port of Fremantle, the major base for the Allies in the Indian Ocean, as bombardment of any attacking ships could be made from the island before the ships would come into range of the port.

One of Rottnest's Delightful Quokkas

The quokkas are unique to Rottnest and not found on the mainland or anywhere else in the world.
We saw this quokka in the main tourist area of the island, apparently quite tame as it easily took food from us by hand. The quokkas are quite animals and have survived due to the absence of feral cats and foxes which would soon wipe them out.

Geordie Bay Looking East

The island became largely devoted to recreational use from the 1900s, aside from a brief period of exclusive military use during World War II. It is now visited by nearly 500,000 a visitors a year, an average of 330,000 of those arriving by ferry or air taxi per. 70% of all visitors come for the day only. The majority of visitors come in summer, with nearly 20% of all visitors coming in January. The island has accommodation for up to 2,850 visitors, while day-only visitors can number up to 5,000 at any one time. There are no private ownership on the island with the Rottnest Island Authority administering everything. Demand for accommodation is very high during the summer months, with ballots held annually for accommodation during the January and Easter school holiday periods.

Geordie Bay Looking West

The coastline of Rottnest is a remote and wonderful place which can best be enjoyed by getting around the island at your own pace. The roads are  mostly flat but a few hills sorted Diane out, especially at the end when she was just about worn out. We can certainly recommend a trip out to Rottnest for visitors to Perth and do it on a bicycle.
The next day we took off along the Perth to Bunbury Highway for a few weeks in the South - West of the state.