Time for our trip to Rottnest Island and our first significant cycle ride for nearly two months.
We were picked up at 08:07 precisely by the coach owned by the Rottnest Express Company and which collects customers from all of the major hotels in Perth. The weather looked to be perfect with 26C forecast and fairly light winds by Rottnest Island standards.
Now dear reader, I am sure you are wondering why such a beautiful island has acquired the name Rottsnest which comes from the Dutch for rats nest. Apparently said island was "discovered" in 1696 by the dutch navigator Willem de Valmingh who mistook the native Quokkas for very large rats. More of Quokkas later and whilst they may seem slightly rat like, when you see them hop they are just like miniature kangaroos or wallabies.
The coach duly delivered us to the Rottnest Express catamaran after doing several circles around Perth to ensure arrival the appropriate time at each hotel. Off we sped down the Swan River and a breakfast of coffee and muffins was partaken on board.
Under cloudless skies we watched Rottness Island appear in the distance and soon we were disembarking and collecting our bikes. We had been informed that there were no cafes on the island, other than near to the port, and very limited access to water so we stopped at a bakery and the LLW decided that sausage rolls were to be our lunch. We had brought several litres of water with us but soon discovered that this would definitely needed.
Off we set on a clockwise tour of the island and soon the LLW was complaining about hills (of which there were quite a few, not long but reasonably steep at times and, to start with made harder by a head wind). However the views were stunning and we passed bay after bay with crystal clear water and almost white sands. The legal limbs soon warmed up and the LLW was soon racing up hills like a demented Quokka!
After a few stops to take in water and admire the views we headed inland close to the Wadjemup lighthouse, the name of which is the original aboriginal name for the island.
The aborigines were resident lang before Willem de Valmingh supposedly discovered
Inland the landscape was quite different with typical Australian bushland and a series of salt lake, one curiously called Lake Baghdad.
We stopped at a picnic spot where a whole family of Quokkas were begging for food. They have become very tame and see humans as an easy meal ticket
Soon we arrived at the north coast and Parakeet Bay where we stopped for our lunch and to swim. It was paradise for swimming and the clear turquoise waters were warm and welcoming. Definitely one of the best swimming beaches for a very long time.
The island is wonderful and quite spectacular but there are two drawbacks. There is very little shade and the sand flies are very annoying but at least don't seem to bit in the way that their NZ cousins do.
Shade is so important because the southern sun is incredibly fierce. Whether it is due to ozone holes or some other freak of nature we know not but we can definitely assure you that it is the case.
After our swim we passed Little Parakeet Bay, Geordie Bay and Longreach Bay before arriving at the small settlement near the ferry jetty, where there was shade and luckily ice cream.
Soon it was time to head back to Perth and we were exhausted. The LLW had a bit of a spat with the captain of the Rottness Express who was intent on refining his Louis Hamilton on water impression in fairly choppy seas. The catamaran pitched and rolled, at times quite alarmingly, but soon we were back in the sheltered waters of the San River.
Now Ray had become quite carried away by his success of the previous night's dinner and had researched a restaurant called Annalakshmi on the Swan, which has been receiving very good reviews and occupies a terrific position on Elizabeth Quay. It's an Indian vegetarian restaurant with an interesting pricing concept. You help yourself to the buffet and when leaving pay what you think the meal was worth! We really enjoyed the Pumpkin curry, daal, potato curry, basmati rice and a small oval flatbread, which was different to any indian flatbread we have had previously.
All very good and we left what the owner clearly thought was a good amount and I'm pretty sure was more than most were leaving, but we had dined well and in our opinion at a bargain price.
We were picked up at 08:07 precisely by the coach owned by the Rottnest Express Company and which collects customers from all of the major hotels in Perth. The weather looked to be perfect with 26C forecast and fairly light winds by Rottnest Island standards.
Now dear reader, I am sure you are wondering why such a beautiful island has acquired the name Rottsnest which comes from the Dutch for rats nest. Apparently said island was "discovered" in 1696 by the dutch navigator Willem de Valmingh who mistook the native Quokkas for very large rats. More of Quokkas later and whilst they may seem slightly rat like, when you see them hop they are just like miniature kangaroos or wallabies.
The coach duly delivered us to the Rottnest Express catamaran after doing several circles around Perth to ensure arrival the appropriate time at each hotel. Off we sped down the Swan River and a breakfast of coffee and muffins was partaken on board.
Under cloudless skies we watched Rottness Island appear in the distance and soon we were disembarking and collecting our bikes. We had been informed that there were no cafes on the island, other than near to the port, and very limited access to water so we stopped at a bakery and the LLW decided that sausage rolls were to be our lunch. We had brought several litres of water with us but soon discovered that this would definitely needed.
Off we set on a clockwise tour of the island and soon the LLW was complaining about hills (of which there were quite a few, not long but reasonably steep at times and, to start with made harder by a head wind). However the views were stunning and we passed bay after bay with crystal clear water and almost white sands. The legal limbs soon warmed up and the LLW was soon racing up hills like a demented Quokka!
The aborigines were resident lang before Willem de Valmingh supposedly discovered
Inland the landscape was quite different with typical Australian bushland and a series of salt lake, one curiously called Lake Baghdad.
We stopped at a picnic spot where a whole family of Quokkas were begging for food. They have become very tame and see humans as an easy meal ticket
The island is wonderful and quite spectacular but there are two drawbacks. There is very little shade and the sand flies are very annoying but at least don't seem to bit in the way that their NZ cousins do.
Shade is so important because the southern sun is incredibly fierce. Whether it is due to ozone holes or some other freak of nature we know not but we can definitely assure you that it is the case.
After our swim we passed Little Parakeet Bay, Geordie Bay and Longreach Bay before arriving at the small settlement near the ferry jetty, where there was shade and luckily ice cream.
Now Ray had become quite carried away by his success of the previous night's dinner and had researched a restaurant called Annalakshmi on the Swan, which has been receiving very good reviews and occupies a terrific position on Elizabeth Quay. It's an Indian vegetarian restaurant with an interesting pricing concept. You help yourself to the buffet and when leaving pay what you think the meal was worth! We really enjoyed the Pumpkin curry, daal, potato curry, basmati rice and a small oval flatbread, which was different to any indian flatbread we have had previously.
All very good and we left what the owner clearly thought was a good amount and I'm pretty sure was more than most were leaving, but we had dined well and in our opinion at a bargain price.
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