The 25min ferry trip over was smooth and as each minute ticked by, the girls excitement levels were rising in anticipation of seeing a quokka! Now for those unfamiliar with Rottnest, it is an island located 19km west of Fremantle in the Indian Ocean. Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh first visited there in 1696 and mistook the native marsupial the quokka to be an oversized rat, hence calling the island rotte nest - dutch for rats nest! Rottnest has a rich and significant cultural heritage being used for a variety of purposes from penal colony to military base and now a popular recreational area. It is also known as Wadjemup, by the local Noongar aboriginals, a place across the water where the spirits are.
The main form of transport around the island which is 11km long and 4.5 wide is by bike. So our first priority as we departed the boat was getting our rental bikes. We picked our way through the cage of helmets trying to find ones that fitted and were the right colour before lining up to receive our bikes. Andy was stoked when he saw that the adult bike had belt drives!! A few adjustments of seat heights and we were off. Within a few hundred metres we had once again stopped - for bread, coffee and the toilet.
Itinerary for the day was fairly unstructured except for catching the return ferry trip at 4.30pm! Off we set for The Basin, only a 1km or so from the main settlement. Halfway there sheltering under the branches of a tea tree we spied our first quokka. The girls proceed to stalk the quokka only to discover several more spread about under the trees! Out came the cameras and the girls spent quite some time clicking away. Eventually we managed to drag them away and continue on to our first destination.
One of the most perfect natural swimming pools you cold possibly imagine, the Basin is set between two rocky headlands. From the small sandy beach you walk a few metres to the edge of a hole in the platform reef very similar in size and depth to a man made pool! The calm crystal water was extremely inviting and we all enjoyed swimming at this beautiful spot.
Being such a magical place within a stones throw of the main settlement meant that it was very popular and thus very crowded beach. So we decided to continue on our bikes in search of another swimming spot.
A few km's later we came across Little Parakeet Bay, a small beach sheltered by rocky outcrops and reef. First up was another swim to cool off! We enjoyed some lunch, making sand mermaids, exploring the next tiny cove and spent more swimming.
Glad to have chosen to hire bike we headed off across the middle of the island hoping to get to visit Little Salmon Bay. However we were mindful of two things - 1. We didn't want to flog the kids to get there making something that should be enjoyable not enjoyable and 2. There was a quokka walk/talk at the main settlement leaving just after 2pm.
It was warm riding across past the salt lakes. Several times Andy and I marvelled about how our holiday trips were changing. We wouldn't have contemplated doing something like this last year. Anyway we stopped frequently for numerous reasons - some valid, some not! At Pink Lake which wasn't very pink we read that the the pink colour was the result of a particular algae and the high salt content. Katy was becoming more vague as we rode along and I was beginning to wonder how much further she would get. Another quokka spotted next to a picnic table turned into an afternoon tea break. At this point we discussed our options leaving it up to the girls to decide.
The quokka walk/talk won hands down much to Andy's disappointment! It was the perfect timing as the turnoff was only a few hundred metres ahead plus the main settlement relatively close with the wind behind us.
Leaving Andy to ride the Rotto half loop, we joined the small group of people interested in quokkas. Led by a volunteer for the next 45 minutes we learnt everything about these cute furry little wallabies including that they carry salmonella which unfortunately didn't really stop the kids from trying to pat them!
Some interesting facts we each learnt included:
- once the joey is born, the mum quokka licks a track for the joey to follow so it can find and get into the pouch (Katy)
- human food is dangerous to quokkas and can make them very sick (Katy)
- quokkas have one joey which usually stays with it's mother for 6 - 7 months, however if this joey is to die early on, the spare joey that is in a state of embyronic diapause resumes growing and is born about a month later. This embyronic diapause phenomena is common amongst marsupials in particular kangaroo and wallabies and helps them cope when conditions are unfavourable for raising young (Nat)
- quokkas need very little water and absorb most of their water through eating certain plants including the samphire, a succulent plant which likes salty conditions but not the ones with the red tip as they are really salty and it is apparently a fashionable thing to serve up as a side dish in top UK restaurants (Ella)
- quokkas were once widespread over the south west of WA, however the introduction of predators such as foxes, cats and dingo plus the loss of habitat have reduced their numbers significantly and they are now considered vulnerable. Currently the main populations are on Rottnest and Bald Island, with several smaller groups scattered around the south west. (Ella)
So the quokka walk/talk was well worth it. The volunteer able to deliver a variety of quokka fact over 45 minutes capturing the girls attention for most of the time! Returning to the settlement we found Andy who was enjoying a post ride/swim coffee. We joined him opting for an ice cream instead.
The afternoon was almost over - only time for a quick explore of the playground before returning our bikes and helmets and boarding the ferry. The return trip was much quieter with two worn out girls plus a reasonable swell which made Ella feel a little off - nothing compared to my Year 8 school camp, where on the way over, I think majority of the 120 girls were vomiting thanks to a very rough crossing.....ah the memories!!
