Rottnest

This past weekend was the big trip to Rottnest Island, or Rotto in the local tongue. Rotto is an island located about a 40 min ferry ride from Fremantle, and it's an amazing place - hardly any cars so the roads are great for biking, amazing beaches (I think 63 in total), snorkeling, swimming, etc, etc. Twelve of us went and split the cost of a villa, which ended up being really nice if a bit cramped - it was right on the beach, had a barbecue and a full kitchen, and a tv so the Australians could watch the semifinals of the AFL playoffs (it's going to be St Kilda vs Collingwood in the Grand Final on Saturday night, if anyone's following at home). We all got bikes (I brought mine over on the ferry, everyone else rented them over there) and on Saturday rode out to the lighthouse in the middle of the island, then Sunday rode all the way around stopping at various beaches to snorkel/swim/relax.

First and foremost, though, Rottnest is the land of the quokka, mini-kangaroos that are rare on the mainland but incredibly adbundant on Rotto, to the point of being a major pest - they come into stores and restaurants, and we witnessed one lady literally trying to push one out of a Subway with a broom but the thing wouldn't budge. Mostly for visitors, though, they're friendly and incredibly cute.


Exhibit A


I mean friendly!

In addition to the quokkas, there was a lot of other cool wildlife - seabirds, a few bish and colorful fish, a few cool-looking crabs, and a decent-sized bobtail (shingleback skink) that was sitting in the middle of the road until I caught it and moved it to a safer location on the roadside.




And that's basically my life updated now. Turned in my first big assignment, a history research paper, yesterday, and tomorrow I leave for my big semester break roadtrip. Won't be able to update much, if at all, when I'm on the road, but I'll have plenty to write about when I get back on October 3rd (is it really almost October now? geez). We (myself, Noam, and our buddy Longkuan from Singapore) will be driving up the Western Australian coast from Perth to Exmouth, with stops along the way at Lancelin, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, and Ningaloo Reef. To see a map of our itinerary, go here.

Catch you all on the flip side.
Rottnest also has some beautiful bays, and the snorkeling was a lot of fun even if I didn't see a ton of fish.