Rottnest Island

Tuesday is half price ferry day to Rottnest Island. $39 instead of $78. The ferry was packed and as it only takes 25minutes each way it is more expensive than Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. Lovely weather and nice people to chat to on the boat.
On the island we met a kiwi guy who now works in the mines cleaning the ore buckets.Works two weeks on and has one off. He said you have to drink lots of water when it is 50degs. He had been to Manchester visited Granada studios, Coronation street and shook hands with Percy Sugden. Dave was keen to shale hands with the man who shook hands with Percy Sugden and he was happy to oblige. What a gent.


Walked around the Island. Limestone, lakes,hills and beaches . Nice. Most beaches has signs saying no swimming because of sharks. A gut had both hands bitten off by a shark near Esperance a few days before so we did not even put our feet in.



A Rottnest highlight is meeting the quokkas( not the fokkas). A cross between a little kangaroo and a rat. They carry their babies in a pouch like a kanagroo.

Walking around the Island the weather was lovely and sky impressive

Samphire. The last time we saw this was on the Norfolk coast near Cley.

I haven't shook hands with Percy Sugden

Terns on the salty lake

Rottnest Island was first developed by the whitefellas as a prison for aboriginals in about 1860. The place was reminded us of Robben Island in South Aftrica. In about 1920 the prison was converted to holiday accommodation and people have rooms where prisoners died. Strange atmosphere where many visitors probably don't know or care about the history of suffering there .

From prison to holiday accommodation

Fremantle docks

Ocean Drover, the largest animal export ship in the world. Two days later it caught fire in the dock

Stone fish in the fish and chip shop aquarium.

I am the music man

parrot on a Fremantle street tree. More colourful than the Accy sparrow

Fremantle hotel