Perth - The Rottnest Island Express

Little Salmon Bay

If there was a prize for the silliest tourist then I’m competing with the best of them. I’ve advised Michelle that she really should have taken out the prenuptial agreement offered to us all those years ago in 1992! Back then, she would not have known that her future husband would turn out to be made by one of those obscure Chinese firms called Nikimi that sell bucket price TVs in Morriscums, instead of what she asked for, a good old Sony or Panasonic!

At 47, I really should know better but today’s adventure features a moment I will bravely call my audition for the re-make of Indiana Jones.

So, speedy ferry to Rottnest (Rotto) and the choice of bike or bus. There were hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes clambering onto mini mountain cross breed machines and setting off in 35 degrees C. I’m not convinced they were all regular cyclists and this was confirmed as after 5 minutes of leaving on our bus we passed them getting off and pushing them up the small inclines. Great decision then. Michelle gave me a happy look as we haven’t always excelled ourselves with some of our choices so far on our travels.

Little Salmon Bay

Our bus alighted at Little Salmon Bay, an aqua coloured cove for snorkellers and swimmers with a rolling sea crashing in and out on the reef. If the Maldives has this much beauty then we need to see it. Bathers stripped into cossies with snorkels and Go Pros in hand and set off to explore. Meanwhile, Michelle had spotted a snake slithering along the rocks above us. He was a long black fella and did not have any of the Cobra or Python marking.

“Probably a sand snake” I said, as I inched forward to get a photo and a video. When taking video on an iPhone you cannot always get close to your target so I placed the device just above his body and began to speak like Sir David Attenborough.
“This….. is ……. a ……. snake.”

The little chap stayed there for a moment, no doubt posing for his picture like all good locals do and then slithered away into the undergrowth.

Dugat

I returned to Michelle triumphant that I had such a cool result for regular readers of my blog and thought nothing of it for an hour or so. We then bathed in the amazing cove and took a number of selfies to show our bronzed bodies. Well, Michelle is bronze and I’m a sort of hairy dirty brown. We waited for our bus and the lovely driver who performed his role with real gusto and enjoyment for an old timer, took us to our next stop, the very end of the island.

It was here, after watching a New Zealand seal roll around the shallow clear waters that I read a sign about my friendly snake.

Bathing Seals

It’s called a Dugat and is one of the most venomous snakes in the world! When I revealed my Steve Irwin bravery to my wonderful sweetheart I thought that she would throw her arms round me like Maid Marian used to years ago in the Robin Hood films. “Oh, Robin”, with a little swoon.But no, I got a creased face and a stern telling off!

This was offset by the magnificence of the view at the very end of this small island.

The end of the island

My magnetic attraction to wildlife didn’t end there though as I was soon confronted by two lizard looking beasts and once again in my desire to bring you all the front line reports here in Oz, I was down on one knee to get a closer look. As before, the critters called Kings Skink posed for their moment on the blog and I present them to you here in all their glory!

Kings Skink

Picking up the bus, we traveled round to the quite stunning Geordie Bay for a final swim before heading back to pick up our express ferry to return us to Fremantle.

Geordie Bay

There were hundreds of people waiting to get on. Rottnest Island, though home to species like the Quokka (who have a back up baby in case the first one doesn’t make it – how clever are they?) and seals, is not a place inhabited by anyone.

Quokka

There are holiday homes to rent and those that work on the island also have the opportunity to stay but it is a haven away from the madness of our human existence, a sanctuary surrounded by the deepest ice blue ocean and another absolute must visit if you’re ever coming to Perth.

Holiday Homes on Rottnest Island

Perth – The Rottnest Island Express

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Mike Devitt

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