Finally its the most anticipated day of the trip - we're going to Rottnest Island! Rottnest Island is a island paradise with picturesque scenery and fine beaches. Cars are not allowed on Rottnest Island and the only transport is bicycles or the island bus. There's also over 135 species of vibrant tropical fish and 20 species of coral. And so, we're really excited for our first snorkeling experience!
We woke up really early and made our way to the Maylands Transperth Station to take a train to the ferry port. We have to take the train from Maylands Station to Perth Station, and interchange to Fremantle Station. The train fare is about AUD$4.20 cash and the duration is 45 minutes.
From Fremantle, we walked to the B-Shed port (it's just near E-Shed Markets) where we'll be taking the Rottnest Express. You can choose either to depart from B-Shed or Northport at Fremantle or Barrack St. at Perth, which ever that is nearer to you. It's about a 45 minutes ride to Rottnest Island from B-Shed and the ticket is AUD$75. We booked our tickets online as they are having an early bird sale, and so we got the tickets at only AUD$52.70, which is a lot more cheaper. You can also pre-book your bicycle, snorkeling gears, surf board and others equipment when you book your ferry tickets online.
We were wondering at first if we should go to Rottnest Island as the ferry ticket was quite expensive and out of our budget. But I'm glad that we eventually stretched our budget for Rottnest Island, as it's simply too beautiful there - I felt like I went to paradise.
This is the bike that we rented from Pedal & Flipper, the only Bike & Hire shop on Rottnest Island. Check out their price list on the website.
It's really a challenge to cycle the whole island, especially if you haven't been exercising regularly. There's up slopes and down slopes and you'll be cycling in the wilderness (as shown above). Be sure to bring a big bottle of water to prevent dehydration and packed food! There's no place for you to get water or food as you cycle further into the island.
The first beach we cycle to is the famous snorkeling and swimming spot, The Basin. Due to the cold weather, the water was freezinggggg colddddd. But after swimming around, our body got used to the temperature. I personally did not find The Basin that beautiful because the next beach we went to, left our jaw dropping for the whole afternoon.
After riding for about 5-10 minutes, we chanced upon Longreach Bay and decided to check it out. Once we got to the top of the stairs and look at what's in front of us, our jaws dropped.
My mind literally went @#$%^& because no words can describe how beautiful the water is. Well, you must know that I've never seen such a view before. In Singapore, the water is just.. dark.. It's my first time seeing the kind of image that I had normally seen on post cards or online. I.. was.. blown.. away..
And so, we got so excited that we immediately ran into the water and start swimming and taking photos.
The water was as clear as those in a swimming pool.
Just pure happiness being in the water.
Unfortunately, we did not stay very long as we still have to cycle to the other parts of the island.
Rottnest Island is also known for a kind of animal living on it called the Quokka. In 1696 de Vlamingh described the quokka as "a kind of rat as big as a common cat". He named the Island 'Rotte nest' (meaning 'rat's nest') and the name of the Island was eventually adapted to 'Rottnest'. It is said that Quokka looks like the happiest animal on Earth as it seems to be smiling always. One of the purpose of my trip to Rottnest Island is also to see one of this animal myself. However, this Quokka that I came across doesn't seem to be happy. Probably because I was hiding my sandwich in my bag and running away when it started chasing after my bag.
At about 4 pm, we made our way back to the ferry port to catch the last ferry back to Perth. There's actually accommodation on the island if you choose to stay overnight there. Personally, I feel that Rottnest Island is a must go place in Western Australia, if you haven't seen such fine beaches before, like me.
That's about it for day 4. We went back to our accommodation after Rottnest Island with sore muscles and sun burnt skin, and stayed indoor for the rest of the day.
Check out my Rottnest Island video below!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3UO1zAUPv8]
Check out the video of the trip!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_SOyXgmxE]
Day 4 Itinerary
6.00 am Travel to B-Shed ferry port
7.15 am Board Rottnest Express
8.00 am Breakfast and rent bicycles
9.00 am Start exploring the island
4.25 pm Board Rottnest Express and go back to accommodation
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Check out my other posts on Australia here:
2014 (Western Australia: Perth, Mandurah & Rockingham)
Day 1 – Perth (Arrival in Perth)
Day 2 – Perth (Centro Galleria, Wellington Street, Cottesloe Beach)
Day 3 – Perth (Caversham Wildlife Park, E-shed)
Day 4 – Perth (Rottnest Island)
Day 5 – Mandurah (Dolphin Quay)
Day 6 – Rockingham (Mandurah Dolphin Cruises, Penguin Island)
Day 7 – Perth (Adventure World, Little Creatures @ Fremantle)
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