Rottnest Island

Rottnest is an Island just off the coast of Western Australia, about a 25 minute ferry ride from Freemantle on the coast. The most famous features of the island are snorkeling, cycling and Quakkas, which are these things. They are essentially big rats, and when I made a comment about how they resembled footballs, I was given an official warning from our hosts regarding these ugly fur balls. It wasn't until I was being starred down from across the room that I noticed Gerards Quakka power shirt, must make a mental note regarding observation skills. Anyway we took the train from Clarkson train station to central Perth, where we transferred trains and headed off to Freemantle. One train ticket, 1.5 hours on the train, for 5.30AUS, that is a steel of a deal, we went like 70km, and didn't have to pay for parking. I like Perh's public transit. Anyway Sarah, Chris and I boarded our high speed ferry to Rottness, started lathering on about 6 tons of sunscreen in hopes of avoiding a nasty sunburn. This was especially important as Doctor Sarah was watching our every move with the professional eye. Anyway we arrived and the first impression I got was, "this feels a lot like Machinac Island", which is a real tourist money pit. Rotness wasn't quite as bad for that. Anyway we rented single speed bicycles for like 25 bucks a piece, and headed out along the coast. The island coast was really cool and then there was this gun battery that was manned by women in WW2..........manned by women....... isn't that an interesting word combination, anyway there was even a sing posted on the door telling the women they were not allowed to roll up their skirts while in uniform. Couldn't you just imagine news headlines back then. "Now hear this, now hear this, Hitler sends submarines to Rotness, gun battery inoperable because personnel were arrested due to dress codes infraction." Sarah was laughing over that sign. Anyway we proceeded over several hills, (suddenly 1 speed bikes seemed a poor decision) and came into Little Samon Bay. This is where we went snorkeling, and boy is that cool. Swimming through the water seeing all the fish, swimming down between rock channels, and getting some really cool pictures. The best by far was this orange and black fish that I spent like 10 minutes diving and trying to get a picture of as he was hiding under a rock. Luckily he finally came out and I got this one. The funnest part of snorkeling is diving and swimming through little caves and between rock formations, unless this happens to you. I was going under this rock arch, when a massive current came through and almost started pushing me backwards. So I swam a bit harder, and then the fun started. My flippers came off, and then I was going backwards. If you have ever been going backwards you would understand the words that came through my head. I decided I didn't really want to bust my legs against the rocks they were rapidly approaching, so I grabbed hold of both sides of the channel and hauled myself through. After refiling my lungs with oxygen I dived back down and got the flippers that Jane and Gerard had lent to us. Anyway really cool, if not a bit scary. Once back on shore we proceeded to bicycle around for a while and then called it a day due to the heat. We retreated to a Dones restaurant and ordered iced drinks of various shapes, sizes and tastes. God do they ever taste good when it is hot enough to melt your skin off your face. The ferry ride back was a gut clenching, hurtling adventure that many a kid looked green on. I was having a great ride, Chris was looking a bit green, and Doc Sarah was sleeping, unaffected by the combination of high speed boat and large waves. Anyway we had supper in Freemantle before we took the train back home. It was a wonderful day filled with sun, beaches, bicycles, cold drinks, and luckily no sun burns. Thanks Doc.