Rottnest

We loaded onto the ferry to Rottnest island with provisions, sleeping bags, snorkels, and excitement. It was a sunny day as we headed across the water and after 30 minutes we arrived at the island. 

We were immediately greeted by the adorable Quokkas. They are small, possum sized marsupials with cute chubby cheeks and a long tail. They are not shy of people at all. In the small town square a dozen or so wander while tourists trip over themselves for selfies with the adorable critters. We were some of these bumbling tourists of course. 

We went to our cabin and settled in before renting bikes for a few days. We  swam in the clear cold ocean and biked 12 miles up and down the many hills of the island marveling at the turquoise and blue water. That night we got pizza and cocktails and celebrated our first day. 

The next day was very gusty but it didn’t stop us from biking over 20 miles, and gaining over 1000ft. Often directly into the wind. Infact we biked into the wind to the west side of the island and then the wind shifted and we went back into the wind to the east side. The 45km/h gusts were killers. You know it’s painful when you have to peddle to keep moving on a downslope. With tired legs and butts we headed to the beach for sunset and rested in our cabin before another days of biking. 

Unfortunately the next day was even windier and we ended up biking 8 miles before collapsing of exhaustion. We also got a notification that our departing ferry the next day was to be cancelled due to the weather so we could either leave that afternoon or stay on the island an extra day and hope the weather would be better to return the following day. We opted to return early, although we ended up returning late and driving in the pouring rain in the dark and eventually decided to get a cabin an hour outside of Perth.