Day trip to Rotto (Rottnest Island)

Whilst in WA, I noticed how the Aussies like to shorten everything and often add 'o' to place names rather than say the last four of five letters, which has much in common with Dublin slang (Dubs like to use it particularly for men's names - Damo, Robbo etc). However, when people were referring to Rotto, I didn't realise they were talking about Rottnest for awhile, even though it was top of my list of things to do whilst in Perth.

So, one beautiful summers' day in January I took the Rottnest express from Freo (Fremantle) Shed B across to the island. It's a roughly 40 minute trip and if you're prone to sea-sickness bring a bag!  It's a choppy enough ride across but I managed to keep it together. I paid approx $40 return and I'd advise getting the boat about 8.30 to make a good day of it.

Rottnest has a somewhat chequered history, despite it's unfettered beauty - its' bays and rocky outcrops are final resting places for many a shipwreck and her sailors. It also housed  German and Austrian prisoners during the WW1 but exclusively Italian enemies during the Second World War and conditions were said to be tough on the island, being as it is so exposed to the elements. It was a look-out point in the Indian Ocean for the Allies. Since, it has become a favoured holiday destination for Aussies and other tourists alike, which is unsurprising given that it has over 60 beaches and 20 secluded bays in it's small 11km landmass. It is a haven for watersports lovers with different beaches being suitable for snorkelling, surfing or watching whales, dolphins, fur seals and the varied bird life of the island.

One of the reefs off the coast of Rottnest, near Porpoise Bay

It is also home to an elusive marsupial, the Quokka, an animal usually about 11/12 inches tall. The island gets its' name from this animal, as when Dutch sailors landed there, they thought these animals were large rats (their tails are similar) and called it Rott Nest - rat's nest. This is what I went in search of.  Not natural predators, they have died out in many places and are virtually non-existent outside Western Australia. It is actually a crime to remove these creatures from Rottnest but I just wanted to have a look.

When I got there I chose to rent a bike ($21) and also purchased an all day Island Explorer (bus) ticket as it was almost 40C and I wasn't sure how long I'd ride under the hot sun. No cars are allowed on the island and although it was the height of summer and busy with tourists, once I left the main settlement area of Thompson Bay there were times when I was alone on the road with just the ocean to my left and various scrub and patches of woodland to my right. A faint breeze whistled in my ears and it felt like I was hundreds of miles from any city, not less than 20km off the coast of Perth.

I stopped at most of the beaches and secluded coastal spots on the South side of the island, and the only one that seemed to be packed was Salmon Bay - I arrived just as the bus did, expelling at least 25 beach-goers of all ages with hats, deck chairs, beachballs and picnics. It's obviously a safe and popular swim spot. I moved on and found some quieter spots to take in the view and snapped a few shots - every photo of this place is picturesque, no matter how basic your camera.

After about 80 minutes I decided to lock the bike up at a bus-stop (you can leave the bikes at bus-stops and hop on the bus, which is very handy) and I boarded the bus to see the rest of the island. The Island Explorer runs on a very regular timetable (every half hour if I remember correctly) and if you're there for only a day you can easily spend some time at 4 or 5 different spots across the island.

After passing some salt lakes but without spying any of the deadly snakes, dugites - part of the brown snake family, and sometimes known to be on the roads of the island, I got back to Thompson Bay and decided to walk to Bathurst Lighthouse nearby. On my way, I was lucky enough to meet some quokka's. 

The first one cocked his head quizzically as I approached and then continued eating whatever he had in his paws (?). I moved a little closer but I didn't want to scare him as I had heard they are very shy. He didn't move so I took a few photos but they didn't come out very well as the light was shaded by the trees and hedging.

I moved further down the road and one seemed to move out of the trees towards me, I had heard that they forage for food and sometimes try to scavenge off strangers, although you're not supposed to give them food. I stayed still and then he stopped, also looking at me. They have kind little faces, almost like a squirrel. When I tried to take a photo he ran off, the evidence is below.

Delighted at having met the inhabitants, I continued on the Bathurst and also took a swim at the Basin, another popular spot for bathers. I found the undercurrent quite strong here and I think you'd need to be a strong swimmer to brave the currents here. I found myself a good few metres from where I started, but the water was so refreshing and there was plenty of sea-life around.

Afterwards I headed back to the settlement and had some lunch at the Rottnest Bakery (really tasty but very expensive, fries alone were $7, if you can, bring supplies). There is a well-stocked local store, obviously for the holiday makers who stay in the cabins and on the camp-site, it also offers souvenirs but again, it is fairly over-priced. This is probably unsurprising, given that it has a captive market. There are a couple of restaurants and even a Subway, even you can't be away from commercialised consumer fare for too long.

I also had some time to explore the local museum, which gives more information on the flora, fauna and wildlife of the island along with some personal histories of various residents. Not many people actually live on the island anymore, preferring to commute for work from the mainland. 

My last stop before heading back to get the last boat (it leaves at 16.15, a bit early for my liking - I would love to have seen dusk here) was the church. A tiny little room, with a few wooden pews for worship, it probably holds less than 50 people, but how many more would it need to? There were some lovely plaques inside, commemorating past residents and loved ones.

Sweet memories.

I left the lovely island after my day there and vowed to come back - although it's a killer to get to from most places! It's a really unique and tranquil place and definitely worth spending a few days on.

(If you want to stay on the island, apart from the cabins and camping - there is the Rottnest Hotel and also the hostel - in the old prison lodgings!)

All photos are my own and cannot be used again without my permission.

Koh-Rong - off the map

Koh-Rong is two hours off the coast of Southern Cambodia, technically somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand. To anyone else in the world - it's Timbuktoo or Narnia, not many will ever get to go there but believe me it's worth it.

It's basically a like a beachfront village. There is no five-star accomodation here - in fact I think the tree-top hut April and I inhabited for our stay ($15) was about as classy as it gets. The only disconcerting part was that after we'd walked down the wooden quay to the beach (after getting off the boat) we entered Coco's (after removing our flip flops - everyone in the bar is barefoot) and the first thing I hear is a Dublin accent.... Almost 11, 000 km from home...sure where else?

Our hut - Fabulous, although we were convinced there was a polar bear from "Lost" underneath it one night. This may have had something to do with copious amounts of alcohol and some hallucinogenics... we didn't plan on the hallucinogenics by the way.... but on a remote island in South East Asia...well, let's say you're always going to get more than you planned for.

There is very little electricity on the island. Coco's had a generator but all the lights outside the bar go off around 1am. We made our way back to the hut in the dark or by candlelight, we also heard alot of other people falling around the place in the dark late at night.

The few days spent there were passed in a hazy bliss, massages overlooking the sea as the sun went down.... delicious noodle soup served in a shack which had a roof but only two walls (people lived there and dogs and chickens ran all around our feet), snoozing in the sunshine after swimming in crystal clear waters, drinking suspect cocktails at Coco's and dancing to questionable Euro-pop with other backpackers who'd found the island, eating fresh fish that the man went out and caught right in front of us in the ocean - with a spear no less, watching youths learning to become flame-throwers....It was all a little surreal.

My favourite little pup - BBQ!

Sandflies and puppies and Phil, the traveller from Manchester who was completely spaced out, we didn't know if he'd been there 4 days, 4 months or 4 years. I had breakfast with him one morning where we had a long discussion (mostly him - I was still recovering from casting Harry Potter spells in the bar the previous night) about how it would be if we could all read eachother's minds. Phil eventually came to the conclusion that it would be a bad idea. Excerpt as follows:

Phil: It would be bad, really bad....(spaces out for a bit - I'm still looking at him) bad, man, ye know?

Me: Yeah

Phil: Like I'm a nice guy, a bright guy and I know alot of stuff, but sometimes...sometimes I just think - I'd like to kill you, ye know?

Me: Yeah (Note I didn't even argue here, maybe I too was spaced out)

Phil: Not you personally but you know when you meet someone really stupid.....stupid, stupid (pointing at his head)

Me: Yeah

Phil: Well, like that, you're like Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! in your head like, and I wouldn't want people to know that

Me: Yeah, I know what you mean Phil.

And then he lay down on the bench again, staring into space, with one hand up shaped like a claw. He was an interesting guy.

Paradise

Standards and habits that you have at home need to go by the wayside when you're traveling. April managed to wash her hair each day in the cold water, but I mostly just had a swim in the sea and a sponge down afterwards, my hair was in an interesting condition after three days but my skin was ultra soft! I lived in a bikini and sometimes threw a ti-shirt over it.

All the children on the island are schooled in one room - which has a roof but is otherwise open air. We could hear them learning their colours in English as we passed down the beach. Absolutely charming. These people are poor though and rarely go to the mainland, we would see them washing their clothes in the sea and the clothes lines hung across the trees. They are so friendly though, always smiling. The children would run down the beach after us and giggle shyly if we said hello or waved.

There's wonderful diving and snorkelling off the island. You can even go at night, as the sharks come out then :) We were content just to read and swim and take it all in, the longest walk we managed was about twenty minutes.

There will be gecko's and mice in your room, and possibly other things too, but I thought of a hut on a lake in Thailand two years previously and just decided to go with it. There's no point stressing over these things when you're traveling - you just won't enjoy it as much. Which is not to say that I didn't sleep in with April, and all her luggage, whilst on the island (I found fresh droppings in my bed....when my mossie net had been up...) but then there's more stories in there.

Koh Rong is due for redevelopment soon, which is a real pity. I think they are going to stick some five star resort on it, and you can see why, but they will definitely destroy some of the wonderful magic they have going on there.