Rottnest Island

VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sat 11 Apr 2015 15:34
Next stop after Albany was Rottnest Island off Perth, known locally as Rotto (Australians seem to dislike long words and try to shorten everything). Rottnest is a corruption of the original Dutch name Rotte Nest or rat’s nest, named by Willem de Vlamingh in 1696 after the quokkas about which more later. The island has a population of about 100, but it’s not underpopulated:


Hordes of people come here all summer, and particularly at weekends, as it is only 10nm off the Perth coast. The island was uninhabited when Europeans arrived, and has been used subsequently as a prison, farm, Army base, borstal, detention camp for enemy aliens and now for leisure and conservation. The Governor of WA liked it so much that he took over the Head Prison Warden’s home to use as a holiday cottage, then had his own built (it is now a pub/restaurant):


The island is limestone and bears fascinating evidence of fairly recent changes in sea level including two levels up to five metres higher than at present - although it is notoriously difficult to be certain whether the land sank or the sea rose. Snorkelling here is excellent - here is some of the coast:


Looking out towards Africa:


And here is a quokka Setonix brachyurus:


As you can see it is a Macropod, a marsupial related to kangaroos and wallabies, about the size of a cat. They have no fear of humans and are the only marsupial found on the island. Quite delightful gentle creatures - but it has to be said, a bit reminiscent of a rat.