Last week we visited Rottnest Island, just off the coast of
Perth. A short ferry ride (with Rottnest Express) over from the
mainland, Rottnest has many things to see and do.
After we arrived on the island we rented bicycles and
started out to explore the many beaches, inlets and lakes. The pristine
beaches, with beautiful blue water and white sand, were strung around the coast,
with the skyline of Perth in the background.
After checking out the beaches and a couple of the lakes in
the island we biked up a steep incline to a place called Oliver Hill lookout.
Oliver Hill was a post used during the Second World War, complete with a 9-inch
gun that would’ve been used to defend mainland Australia during the war. While
it is now only for demonstration purposes, the gun now stands as a testament to
the hard work of Australian and British officers during the war, even though
the gun was never fired to defend against enemy attack. Down below the gun is a
network of underground tunnels and rooms, each one dug out by hand, where
soldiers would stay to man the post and stand on guard against an attack.
Another interesting
feature of the island was the Quokkas, a small rodent native to the island. These
were mistaken for giant rats when the Dutch landed on the island, hence the
name Rottnest (meaning literally “rat’s nest” in Dutch). These little burrowers
come out and dawn and dusk and the island has an approximate population of
10,000 of them.
With something different to see and explore, Rottnest is definitely
a worthwhile day trip while staying in Perth. You might even need a few days to
explore everything there is to see...
