I had a day alone the next day and scratched my head on what I could do. I was considering swinging up to the National Park but at the very last minute opted for Rottnest Island. I was so glad I made that decision, I was first deterred by the fact it was winter but the beauty of the place can be appreciated without swimming in it.
I stressed myself out trying to get to Fremantle Pier from Perth in time but with minutes to spare and after a 2km run because I parked in the wrong spot, I made the boat that took us over to the island. 3 kids vomited on the ride which didn’t marry that fresh air smell I was longing for to pair with the gorgeous sea I was peering out to through the windows.
For the rest of the day I rode a nasty 50km on a cruiser bike with terrible gears and learned the art of taking selfies. I eventually made two friends and got them to take better photos of me against the picturesque scenery. Rottnest Island was breathtakingly beautiful and unleashed all the stress and burdens I had been feeling of late.
I felt like every nook and cranny was nature’s adventure on this untouched island. On this side of Rottnest, the sea was a beautiful forest green due to the lush moss on the sea bed!
After Rottnest Island, all exhausted and sweaty from such an exercise-filled day (I didn’t think I was signing up for that), I went home to jazzy myself up. I actually flew over for Dan’s birthday but he had to work during the day. Daniel is one of my best friends since I was 11 in primary school. We met because I was dancing with his older brother at one of those cheesy Blue Light Disco things and when he found out I was 2 years younger (huge gap when you’re young) he yelled out “EWW!” and palmed me off to his brother, Daniel who is of the same age. We caught the ferry over the river then had fine dining at Balthazar. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Happy birthday Big D!
I spent my very last day working from home. Dan’s roommate then invited me out for coffee. I got to enjoy my last moments on the back of a bike, with the wintry wind against us, Swan River beside us and Perth’s concrete jungle pitted in the background. I had an amazing time. It’s a smaller town and somewhat overshadowed by the mining industry, but for those few days I spent there – I completely forgot about my stress and burdens.
Oh this picture was taken when I got chatting to a local. There aren’t many as the island only has a small corner where there are holiday houses and residential lodges and the rest are left to its wonder. But I got chatting to a fellow who was free diving to catch some male lobsters on the last day of the season. Apparently you have to have a license on the island, and you can’t catch to sell, you can only catch 7 a year and just the males so the females are left to breed. Once winter hits, lobster hunting is prohibited as it becomes breeding season. The fellow had to throw one back as it was too small, there’s size restrictions too but kept this one who just made the cut. What I also learned was, like lizards losing their tail, lobsters do something similar where they throw away their legs to attempt to flee. You can see below he’s only got a few left.
For anyone ever considering to visit the west side, do it. I didn’t think that a smaller town had so much to offer at such short distances. I’d love to come over again but have a car and trek up to Exmouth and Monkey Mia. Thank you for having me Perth, and thank you to my best man Dan for hosting me.
This is a native quokka, famous to the island.
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