Perth, Western Australia: The Quokkas of Rotto

There’s nothing to see or do in Western Australia!

A good friend of ours from Queensland, with a wry smile

Loving nothing more than a challenge, we set out on a mission to test this assertion. Perth was anyhow a natural entry for us into Australia, as it is a comfortable ~3.5hr flight from Bali. We arrived at a wonderful time of year too, the start of November offering a very agreeable 20-25deg. That most fleeting of moments – at once not too hot, but not too cold.

One of the defining features of Australia, at least in our imaginations, was surely the panoply of unique wildlife that can exclusively be found here. Sure, the ‘roos and the koalas often take the headlines, but the Quokka is just as cute and curious. They live in only a few places including Rottnest Island, some 19 kilometres off the coast from Perth / Freemantle. But the Quokkas are far from the only attraction of Rotto – endless beaches, other wildlife including ospreys, all kept idyllic by the prolific use of cycling as the means of getting around.

There are options for both getting to Rotto and what to do once on the island. One can fly in a light aircraft, get a fast ferry from Freemantle, or catch a longer ferry from the city of Perth. As we were based in east Perth close to the city wharf we took the Rottnest Express. Most people then hire cycles to get around (the other option being a small bus circuit, or walking which would be a good option without kids) – either hiring from your ferry provider or from the island itself. We went with bikes from Pedal and Flipper who are based on the island – definitely worth booking in advance. Here’s a tip – make sure the kids can pedal the chosen bike and reach the brake lever. We got not very far before having to return to swap out Dessa’s bike, after which she was on her way like a Tour de France racer. (the final option for completeness, is to rent one of the few chalets on the island and stay for a few days. But these sell out extremely quickly, with iPhone-esque queuing through the night taking place at the Rottnest office in Freemantle).

The other top tip would be to make time for the Rottnest Island Museum. Be aware though, that the history of Rottnest couldn’t contrast more starkly with the peaceful idyll the island provides tourists today. Rafe and Jim had a sobering but important time learning of Rottnest’s history as a prison for male Aboriginal Australians held in awful conditions on often trivial pretences. Some 373 inmates did not make it off the island and remain buried there. As a result the island holds a mystical reverence for aboriginal people as the spirits of so many ancestors now remain.

Aside from the island itself, the quokkas are the star of the show. After cycling around the island having a wonderful time but seeing no quokkas, on our return we saw a horde of them hanging around the main settlement. This makes sense – the richest pickings can be had for the quokkas from the leftovers of all the humans there, like foxes and so many other animals around the world they know the score. They are a wonderful curiosity, the size of a small dog but with the amusing locomotion of a kangaroo. It was something of a relief to see them – Odessa would have been distraught if we’d gone to the island and not seen the cute critters she’d seen on the posters. In retrospect, you’d be having a really tough day if you were to spend much time on Rotto and manage not to see a single quokka – there are a lot of them about, and many of those are in the built area around the museum and quod.