We decided late yesterday afternoon to spend today at Rottnest Island, and were probably lucky to get a spot on the boat! We got to Hillary's Boat Harbour around 6.45am, unloaded the bikes and got them loaded onto the Rottnest Fast Ferry Service. Quick trip to Dome Cafe for coffees and we were on the ferry for the 7.30 departure. With at least 200 people on board, we were happy to sit out the back in the fresh air. It's was a smooth 45 minute journey (about 18kms in distance).

We got our bikes off the ferry, picked up a map of the island, went into the small town mall and worked out the plan for the day. The island is 11km east/west, and 5km at its widest north/south. There are no cars on the island and lots of people take their own bikes as we did, or hire them. There's a shuttle bus with about 20 stops around the island to help those on foot. There were hundreds of boats in the bays, and also hundred of chalets for people holidaying on the island - it would be quite a nice spot for a weekend - there are tennis courts, a golf course, and various fishing, surfing, swimming and snorkelling spots.

We rode around to Geordie Bay and saw heaps of little quokkas - they were very tame. At Geordie's Cafe we had breakfast to give us sustenance for the riding ahead. We rode the few kms to the Wadjemup Lighthouse and passed the Pink Lake as well as a nesting area with hundreds of little Fairy Tern birds: it wasn't far but a bit of effort was required towards the end to get up the hills, and the flies were particularly bad - Dad swallowed 2 whilst helping Eamon up a hill!

On arrival, we were greeted by a 1 metre long dugite - a very venomous snake! The volunteer guides were surprised by its size and eventually coaxed it back into the bush thankfully. We did the half-hour tour of the lighthouse which included climbing up the spiral staircase with 155 steps to the top and out onto the balcony where the 360 degree view was spectacular. The breeze was great up there, as it was quite a hot day (around 34 degrees).

The ride down to Salmon Bay was nice and easy, and we enjoyed a refreshing swim in the beautiful clear waters. Renee & Eamon snorkelled with lots of big white fish and small colourful fish. We dried off and made our way back to Thomson Bay for lunch at The Bakery. Suddenly, it was almost 3pm, so we raced down to the jetty, got our bikes loaded on and made our way out to the back of the ferry - it was a beautiful afternoon on the water.

Once we got back to Hillary's and loaded the bikes back onto the car, it was time for a beer, so we headed back to The Breakwater at Hillary's - the same bar we'd been at a couple of months ago on Renee's birthday! Eamon & Renee got an icecream and some 'British' lollies so everyone was happy. After a long day out, we got back to Karrinyup Waters, and Renee, Eamon & Dad went for a swim in the great pool area. A bonus was that some children that Renee & Eamon had befriended (Jody & Keyan) were also there, so Mum chatted to their Mum (who's from the Netherlands - they live in Pinjarra, south of Perth). A long day, but a great one!