After leaving what must be the most densely populated place on earth we arrived in what is definitely not!! We are now on Rottnest Island which is located about 18km off the coast from Fremantle (which is next to Perth). There are no cars allowed on the island so its walking or biking (which is the preferred mode of transport). It has white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and amazing wildlife. The island is home to the Quokka, which is like a large rat (hence the name of the island which is Dutch for rats nest as the first Dutch visitors thought they were rats). They are not frightened of humans and happily wander around the floor where you are sitting!
We hired some bikes and cycled around the island which is about 23km. We walked to a WWII 9.5" gun at Oliver Hill and paddles in the sea. But the real highlight of our few days there was going on a eco adventure tour hoping to spot some humpback whales. We set off on the boat out into the deeper water and sat and watched the sea...then all of sudden the cry went up "there she blows" and off we went to catch up with them. They are on their annual migration at the moment and it is the best time of year to see them. There were about 4 whales swimming together and we followed them for about half an hour before they headed off.
We also saw some NZ fur seals lying around the water, a stingray swimming under the jetty, a pelican which obligingly took off to fly across the harbour and it was huge!
After a few very relaxing days on the island we headed back to Perth to collect our hire car for the next part of our journey.
WOW how lucky you are to see those whales. Great photo. Sounds lovely without cars and only walking or bikes (those dutch influence everything!). xxx
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