Today we took the ferry to Rottnest Island. We were booked on the 10:30am Ferry. We ended up arriving at Hilary’s boatyard around 9:30 so we had a coffee in Dome which is Perth’s answer to Starbucks. After coffee we headed back to the dock and it was time to board.
There were lots of people boarding with bicycles which were all stacked up at the front of the ship. We were on foot so we headed straight on board and upstairs where we took seats at the front of the ship.
This was a mistake as the sea was rougher than expected and the front of the ship seemed to feel the movement quite a lot.
The journey took about 45 minutes and I think it’s fair to say Molly was relieved when we docked.
Once we’d arrived I headed into the visitors centre to enquire about a train trip that I had seen and we were booked on the next train at 11:30.
It was a short walk to the train station where we boarded. There was a large group that were doing a Grand Island tour and then a few of us doing just the train trip which included a tour of a gun and tunnels.
The journey up was very pretty. We went past a lake and had some gorgeous views of the landscape and the sea.
At the top there was a tour of a WW2 gun and the tunnels surrounding it. To be honest we were more interested in the views but the tour was part of the package so we joined in.
We started in the tunnels where we learned about how the soldiers had lived there and manned the gun in anticipation of an invasion that never came. They were on alert for the duration of the war
After the tunnel tour we went back to the top of the hill to look at the gun.
We were very aware that the return train left at 1pm and the tour guide was very chatty so as we headed up for the final view of the gun Chris and I abandoned the tour and went upto the lookout to see the views.
As we boarded the train for the return journey those on the grand tour were provided with lunch to eat. Those of us in the cheap seats had to just sit and watch…
When we had returned to the Settlement we walked around to the main area where there were some shops and restaurants. We found a nice bakery and had some rolls / pies / sausage rolls for lunch. We sat at a picnic bench to eat while we spotted the Quokkas.
At first we just spotted one in the distance but then they came closer and they were incredibly tame. Molly managed to get a few photos.
After lunch and Quokka spotting we decided to walk to the beach. This was easier said than done as we met getting lost. We spotted a school group who looked like they were also going to thr beach so we ended up following them and we found ourselves in beautiful spot.
The tide was in so there wasn’t much sand but the water was stunningly clear.
There was an area in the sea that was very deep. Like a natural swimming pool and most people were swimming in this area.
All too soon we had to head back so that we could didn’t miss the last ferry of the day. We were booked on the 4:30 ferry but it set sail at 4:15 so I’m hoping everyone was on board! We sat in the middle / bottom of the boat and had a much smoother return journey. We were quite quiet on the way back. The sun and the walking had tired everyone out.
Skating on Thin Ice 