Our last two days in Australia were spent enjoying some of Western Australia's (WA's) best beaches and coastline. On Saturday, we took the Rottnest Express down the Swan River and into the Indian Ocean, to the small island known to the locals at Rotto. The island is recognized for its beautiful coast (warm clear water for snorkeling, and fantastic waves for paddle boarding and surfing), and for its main inhabitant - the quokka (rhymes with mocha). There are only a few sanctioned vehicles on the island, and most visitors choose to bike their way around (although there were a fair number of walkers). The main sights on the island are its lighthouses (and the views from them) and the beautiful rocky coastline. As we biked from the main lighthouse around the southern coast and back to the main town, there were so many spots to stop and admire the views. We definitely wished it was warm enough for a swim and a snorkel! But our bike ride was perfect. Then there were the quokkas. These animals are famous on Reddit for being the cutest, friendliest creatures on the planet, but what makes them even more special is that they are only found on Rottnest Island. When the island was first being charted by William de Vlamingh in the 1650's, he mistook the small marsupials for rats and named the island what he thought was an apt name: Rottnest (rat's nest). Can you imagine this cute face being mistaken for a rat? On our way back to the mainland, we couldn't help but think about how this beautiful setting would be so inspirational to write a book, render a sketch or simply ponder and let time pass by... it would have been wonderful to spend more time there. Instead of taking the boat all the way back to Perth, we decided to stop in Fremantle to take in the town at night. We were struck by how desolate the town was, and it wasn't until we passed a very energetic and vibrant pub that we remembered it was Derby Day and it appeared all of Fremantle was watching their football team in the western derby. While the rest of the town watched their team win, we took the opportunity to watch the sunset at the marina and fishing wharf. On our last day in WA, after packing up and checking out of the hotel, we headed to Cottesloe beach to take in a little more paradise, and we weren't disappointed. It was only a 20 minute drive from downtown to this small beach town, but it's one of the most popular beaches in Western Australia, famous for being WA's birthplace of surfing and having been named the world's second best family beach by Lonely Planet. And now we’re at our first volunteer assignments in China! So far we’ve learned how to navigate the public bus system, how to use the keys to the flat, and how to determine the difference between shampoo and dish soap in the local grocery store. Because we don’t have terribly good access to wifi, we will probably only be able to update once a week until we leave!
2 Comments
Irene
7/6/2014 05:45:03 am
Adorable little creatures, you and the quokkas. What a great way to celebrate July 4th.
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Ken
7/7/2014 05:51:32 am
Wow... What an action packed week! Can you believe that you have only been gone for 15 days?
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