OH! Magazine - Australian Version October 2015 | Page 30

( Where, Oh Where? )

PEDAL POWER & QUOKKAS RULE
ON ROTTNEST ISLAND
Toni Krasicki explores Rottnest Island in Western Australia.
ver met a Perth native who has
never been to Rottnest Island?
Nope, neither have I.

E

Sitting just 18km west of Fremantle, the
island sees up to 500,000 visitors
annually

(and

that’s

probably

not

counting all those arriving under their
You can call it a rite of passage, but a
pilgrimage to ‘Rotto’ for the annual family
summer holiday, a weekend away with
friends,
or
schoolies
week,
is
unquestionably a Western Australian
tradition!
Whether you arrive by private boat, plane,
helicopter or with one of the passenger
ferries, as soon as you set eyes on this
sandy low lying island fringed with
swimming pool hued waters, you wished
you’d packed more underwear.
Not that you need it. That is, whether you
are a day-tripper or staying a week, the
one thing you can’t go without is a
swimsuit. All that hot Western Australian
sunshine and crystal clear sub tropical
waters that the south-western corner of
Australia is blessed with, can convert the
most adamant non-swimmer into a water
babe.

30

OCTOBER 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

own steam).
As

you’d

expect,

school

holidays,

especially in summer, are exceptionally
busy, as are weekends. Actually I don’t
know when Rotto has any down time, the
place is popular in winter too, sporting a
busy event calendar.
My partner and I arrive for the day, leaving
on the ‘once daily’ departure from Perth
City at 8am. If you’ve never been on, or
haven’t seen much of the Swan River, it’s
a smart way to combine a river cruise
with a ferry trip. However, it does take
nearly two hours on this particular Sunday
to get to Fremantle, as we have to slow
down to a crawl several times for sailing
lessons and kayak races.
The Swan River actually feels more
harbour than river during much of the

journey, but it’s worth taking the Perth/
Fremantle leg at least one way for just
the cruise through Fremantle Port that’s
home to massive cargo carriers and
tankers and enormous machinery.
Actually cruising out to the island from
Fremantle is like meandering through a
ship parking lot. Great rusting metal
hulks bob at anchor waiting for their next
gig or port of call.
When on Rotto, do as the human locals
do, and get around by bike. If you are
someone like my partner who hasn’t been
on a bike for 20 years, make friends with
the saddle, because the best of the island
is outside of Settlement – the main hub.
Rotto operates like a well-oiled machine.
To save time, passengers pre-purchase
bike hire and collect bikes, helmets and
pre-booked snorkelling gear from crew on
the pier at disembarkation. There are
also lockers where, for a small fee, you
can store stuff you don’t need while you
trek around the island.