Easter Sunday we had booked a trip over to Rottnest Island, an island off the coast of Fremantle. We were picked up by the tour bus and delivered to the port. Being Easter, the boat was full so it was pretty packed going over. Terry was excited to find himself standing next to Alan Bond in the queue for the ferry. (For my non-Australian readers - Alan Bond was a renouned Australian business man who backed Australia's famous win over the USA in the America's Cup in the 70's. No country had ever beaten the Americans in 100 years so it was quite an achievement for Australia to take the cup from them. The return challenge was held in Fremantle. Alan Bond now lives in UK and is out here for his granson's wedding. At one time he owned a manor house and a whole village in England.
On arrival on Rottnest we hired bikes and proceeded to cyle round the island (as instructed by James & Jody). There are many pretty bays & harbours and some holiday accommodation. However, no-one is allowed to live on the island unless they are employed there so there are hardly any vehicles - just a few rangers' utes and the local buses all of whom are very considerate to the numerous cyclists. The distance around the island is 22km and IT IS NOT FLAT. There were quite a few hills so we were very happy that we were able to complete the ride around the island as it was the middle of the day and it was 33C.
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| One of the Rottnest Islands beautiful coves |
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| Taking a break from cycling |
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| Quokka's - Rottnest's famous marsupial we saw several of these cute animals |
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| Quokka's |
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| Terry takes a break from cycling |
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| On my bike |
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| We had lunch by this lake |
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| A holiday location with holiday apartments |
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| The Rottnest Mall |
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| The Mall with lots of cyclists |
There is some history associated with Rotto (as the locals call it). It was of course originally inhabited by Aboriginals but later as the Port of Fremantle grew, a pilot for the numerous ships was stationed there together with some staff. The cottages in the pictures below are where they lived.
The old church is also very different and as it was Easter Sunday when we were there, they were ringing the bells. I was very amused at their choice ...... Jingle Bells!!! I think someone has a sense of humour.
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| The Church |
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| The Ships Pilot Cottage |
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| Old Cottage |
The pub is lovely - it must have been recently renovated. We really enjoyed a couple of cold drinks after our ride. The bouncer on the door admitted that he was doing his best to make me feel good when he asked me for ID!!!
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| Terry enjoying a cold drink at the pub after the ride around the island |
At 4pm we caught the boat back to Fremantle - not so crowded this time. We were glad to have a comfy seat on which to rest our sore bums!
Tomorrow we leave Fremantle & Perth to travel north. We will now be travelling towards the remote areas of WA so phone & internet may be spasmodic. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
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A BIT OF USELESS BUT QUITE INTERESTING INFORMATION:
Distances as the crow flies:
Perth to Brisbane 3664km (2240 miles)
Perth to Bali (Indonesia) 3011km (1871 miles)
Perth to Singapore 3911km (2430 miles)
Perth to Sydney 3292km (2045 miles)
So we are at this moment, closer to Asia than to our home in Queensland and are now heading north along the West Australian coast beside the Indian Ocean and it is getting warmer every day!
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