Rottnest Island

Rottnest island is a small island about 45 min boat ride from Fremantle in Perth. It's so small that there are no cars allowed on the island and the only mode of transport is by bike or little golf carts. We hired bikes through the ferry company and set off exploring the beautiful island. It is still winter so it wasn't hot, but at about 19 degrees it was perfect riding weather! The roads were basic and very hilly, so it was a bit of a workout and if we were cold to start with we certainly weren't after the first hill!

There is a small animal native to Rottnest island called a Quokka these furry little things are somewhere between a giant rat and a kangaroo, which sounds gross but they are actually adorable! They come right up to you and sniff around your bike and will sniff your hand if you hold it out. Their tameness made for great photo ops and selfies, but then a ranger came past on his golf buggy and warned us that they are diseased so not to touch them. This was after i'd stroked about 20 so i poured practically a whole bottle of antibacterial gel on my hands just to be safe.

After riding around for a few hours we stopped for a bite of our picnic on top of a hill by a massive lighthouse in the centre of the island. From here we could see all the many bays and beaches, it was wonderful. Unfortunately a huge crow took a liking to Sophie's sandwich and attacked her leaving her with a cut and bleeding hand! The beaches we stopped at were stunning, and it warmed up a bit as the day went on so we stopped at one beach, called Basin, for a snack and a break. Our fitness levels were not what we thought they were and 5 hours of riding up and down hills had truly worn us out!

We made our way back to the port for our return ferry and had a well deserved cider in the only bar on the island before heading back to the city. It was a really great day trip and well worth the bruised bums!!