Tuesday...15 October 2013

After nearly 40 years we have finally ticked a long overdue box.
Today we were up before dawn to catch the ferry for a day trip to Rottnest Island.
While we were waiting for our ferry we were able to have a look at the Leeuwin II. It is a Tall Ship with over 810 square metres of sail and an overall length of 55 metres. It is a working ship and all voyage participants are expected to be involved in most aspects of ship operations, from sailing, steering and navigating to cleaning the ship and climbing the mast. Must be exciting for the lucky ones who get to work on her.

Rotto as the locals call it is an island half an hours boat ride off the coast of Western Australia and is loved by all for an affordable family orientated island holiday. The entire island is an A Class Nature Reserve which means it is a National Park and owned by the state and managed by the state on behalf of the people of WA. The only means of transport on the island is by walking, hiring a push bike, or on the bus that does loops of the island every hour on the half hour.

We began our day by jumping on the bus and riding it right around the island to get an idea of the terrain and layout. Along the way the bus slowed four times to give way to snakes and was constantly slowing as well to allow bike riders to move to the side of the roadway and let us through. After lunch we took the trip up to the old WW2 gun emplacements and the tunnel system under them. On arrival we were met by a volunteer island guide who showed us around.

The men in our group certainly enjoyed the event and the chance to get up close to a huge cannon. It definitely was good although a few of us found the many stairs and steps a bit daunting. Going down was super easy, but the coming back up was hard work for more than one of us!
Of course we eventually encountered the famous Rottnest Quokas. These cute little marsupials wander happily among the tourists and most of them seem to have no fear of humans.

We finished the day with a slow stroll around the main township and looked at some of the oldest buildings and the history associated with them before boarding our ferry back to the mainland.

A very good day out.