Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019

Saturday, 9/7/2019 - Exploring Rottnest Island

We woke up earlier than usual today as we had to get an early start for our Rottnest Island adventure. Now that I had my luggage, I wasn't limited to 3 items of clothing to choose from.

The Sonams cooked us a nice brekky sandwich: fried onions and sausages in soy sauce. It was brilliant and absolutely delicious, not something we would have ever considered making. We asked Sonam Tshering about his shift cleaning at the zoo last night. He said that it was great; he had gotten to drive a golf cart between attractions, and he got to observe the nocturnal behaviors of the animals. He mentioned that the snakes are much more active at night, a fact that his wife was not interested in hearing about one bit!

We left the house around 6:20 a.m. for the 30 minute drive to Fremantle. Sonam Tshering drove, with Sonam Choki feeding him spoonfuls of rice from the back seat along the way. Those two are so adorable!

Perth itself is not technically on the coast. It is on the Swan River, and Fremantle is situated where the river meets the Indian Ocean. The first English settlers established the Swan River Colony in Fremantle in 1829, but geographic conditions (including the location of fresh drinking water) led them to soon move the seat of the colony upriver to Perth.

Fremantle remained the colony's port, and between 1850 and 1868, 37 ships delivered convicts to Fremantle. Fremantle Prison became one of the most notorious prisons in the British Empire. The city became a commercial shipping port after it was dredged in 1897. This was during the gold rush, and the port became quite instrumental in the transportation of people and goods.

We parked the car and went to B Shed, one of numerous lettered dockside warehouse buildings. This one housed the Rottnest Express office and a cafe. I went inside and picked up our tickets.

The weather was crisp and cool, and I was pleased to have my fleece back in my possession now that my luggage had been recovered. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. The early morning light was beautiful on the pier. There was a tall ship called the STS Leeuwin II (a 3 masted schooner barque) docked at the pier, and we could see the squat, green south mole lighthouse in the distance. From O'Connor's Landing, we had a nice view of the shipping port, with cranes, shipping containers, and container ships.

We boarded the comfortable modern Rottnest Express high speed ferry, which left port at 7:30 a.m. Rottnest Island is 12 miles off the coast of Fremantle. We didn't have any plans for Rottnest other than seeing the famous quokkas. So we looked at maps and brochures and tried to plan our day. Sonam Choki has never been on a train, so she suggested a scenic train ride. We were also interested in an Aboriginal cultural tour.

We arrived at Thomson Bay Settlement, Rottnest Island (or "Rotto" as it is endearingly called by Aussies, who have a tendency to truncate many words into cute nicknames) at 8:00 a.m. Our first stop was the visitor's center near the pier. This is where you can book additional activities, buy souvenirs, etc. We asked about the scenic train ride, but they informed us that train rides don't resume for the tourist season until Monday. So we asked about the Aboriginal tour, but that also was out of season, so it would have had to have been booked in advance. Activities are limited in winter, and things are just starting to resume their spring/summer schedule.

We weren't sure what to do, so we thanked the staff and said that we would probably be back later after weighing our options. They told us some places to look for quokkas, but advised that they are nocturnal, and we may not see much activity from them until late afternoon.

Rottnest Island is famous for its wild population of 12 - 15,000 quokkas. They are friendly marsupials who are curious and love posing for selfies. In fact, the island got its name because of the quokkas. Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh mistook the quokkas for rats in 1696, and named the island Rottenest (Rat's Nest in Dutch).

We exited the visitor's center and took some photos of the Salt Store. This historic building dates back to 1868. Between 1838 and 1850, Rottnest Island's salt lakes were the source of all salt used in Western Australia. A man walked by and told us that there was "an army of quokkas" on a nearby hillside.

Quokkas were our main reason for wanting to visit the island. We were delighted to be able to see them first thing in the morning, so that we could spend the rest of the day enjoying other activities without worrying about trying to spot some.

We rounded the corner and there they were; about a dozen quokkas (adults and juveniles) all to ourselves! They immediately came over to us. They hop like their fellow marsupials the kangaroo and wallaby.

Touching and feeding quokkas is prohibited, but you are fully allowed to approach and observe them. We squatted down on the ground to get down to their level. Quokka selfies are an Instagram staple, but they are not as easy to achieve as one might imagine. As I tried to position my phone for a selfie, a quokka came over and tapped my thigh with his little paw. As I leaned my face in to take the picture, he stood up on his hind legs and touched my face and hair with his little nose. After many attempts, I finally got a shot in which the quokka and I are both looking at the camera.

Sonam Choki had brought her selfie stick. As she tried to position her phone, a quokka tried to gain access to her jacket pocket. Once the selfie stick was locked and loaded, the quokka seemed more interested in the stick. We laughed because it seemed as if he wanted to operate it himself.

These animals are adorable and so curious. One of them was very intrigued by Craig's water bottle, and another was interested in Sonam Tshering's Rottnest Island brochure. It kept standing up on its hind legs to look at it. Sonam Choki was a bit startled when she noticed the quokkas' rat-like tails; they reminded her too much of snakes.

We wandered down to the outdoor food "mall" and encountered another group of quokkas just waking up in the sunshine. Some mothers had joeys in their pouches. It was fascinating to see a little joey peeking its head out of the pouch in the wild! One mom and baby were both chowing down on a leafy stick, passing it back and forth to one another.

Rottnest Island is a very family friendly destination, and there were many little kids who just couldn't control themselves around these real-life Ewoks. Even as rule-following adults, we felt the temptation to touch the little critters, but were able to resist it. As for toddlers, forget it; they just don't have the self control. We watched as one little boy approached a quokka joey and prepared to scoop it up, with one hand on either side of it. Onlookers called out "No!" In seeming slow motion, the kid's dad swooped in just in time and picked the kid up before he made contact with the quokka.

It must be so hard to regulate human interactions with quokkas. We saw many animals hanging out under cafe tables, eating scraps. We are sure that some people must deliberately feed them as well. One little girl was sitting on the ground next to a cafe table, and a quokka hopped right onto her lap. Her parents had obviously told her not to touch the quokkas, as she was holding her hands out to the side as if to underscore that she was not voluntarily touching it.

Some of the joeys were old enough to exit the pouch and walk around on their own. But when they got hungry, they would approach their mom, pull down the pouch with their tiny hands, and stick their heads inside to suckle.

Quokkas at Thomson Bay Settlement

With our quokka fix satiated, we headed back to the visitor's center. I bought some quokka souvenirs: a T-shirt and a small stuffed animal. I asked Sonam Choki if she wanted a stuffed animal too. She politely declined, but I could sense that she really did want one. I made a mental note to try to pick one up for her later. We also purchased tickets for the Island Explorer hop on / hop off bus. It comes half hourly and stops at 19 different locations on the 11 km by 4.5 km island. We figured that this would keep us busy; we could study the map and explore places of interest.

Early in the morning, the buses were pretty empty and we all got comfortable seats. The Sonams had not seen a lighthouse before, so our first stop was at Wadjemup Lighthouse (stop #8).

The Whadjuk Noongar people, the indigenous traditional owners of the island, know Rottnest as "Wadjemup." In their Noongar language, the name means "place across the water where the spirits are." Approximately 700 years ago, the island was connected to the mainland and the people could walk there. Their storytelling tradition relates the rising of the seas which turned Wadjemup/Rottnest into an actual island.

We got off at the bus stop and then walked up a hill to the lighthouse. We arrived just in time for the 10 a.m. tour. Although Craig and I have both seen our share of lighthouses in New England, neither of us had ever climbed a lighthouse before. So it was a new experience for all four of us!

Shipwrecks on the surrounding reefs due to human error caused need for lighthouses on Rottnest Island. The location of this one is at the highest point on the island: 148 feet above sea level. In fact, this place made Sonam Choki a little homesick as it is the only place she has seen in Australia so far that even remotely reminds her of the mountains of her native Bhutan.

The original lighthouse on this site was built by Aboriginal convicts (who were imprisoned on the island since 1838) beginning in 1842. They quarried limestone from Nancy Cove on the island.

Disagreements with the British made sourcing a light difficult, and the light was eventualy constructed locally in Fremantle.

Living quarters for the lighthouse keeper were built around the base of the tower. A small part of this structure still remains to the left of the current lighthouse.

The lighthouse officially opened on June 1, 1851. There wasn't a permanent road between Thomson Bay Settlement and Wadjemup Lighthouse until 1866, making the lighthousekeeper's job especially isolating.

As the 19th century drew to a close, the lighthouse was seen as nearing technological obsolescence. It proved difficult to upgrade the existing lighthouse, so they built a new one (twice as tall and with a more powerful lamp) right next to it in 1896.

The light mechanism for the new lighthouse was constructed by Chance Brothers in England, and was initially fueled by heavy mineral oil. In 1929, a mercury float pedestal and clockwork mechanism were installed, to make it easier for a motor to turn the several ton lamp. The lighthousekeeper needed to wind the clockwork mechanism every couple of hours to spin the light. The light was electrified in 1936, and was fully automated in 1990.

The lamp revolves every 60 seconds. (Lighthouses spin at different rotations so sailors will know which is which.) This light is visible up to 26 knots.

On July 12, 1899, the sailing barque City of York, which was delivering building supplies from San Francisco, misinterpreted a flare signal from the assistant lighthousekeeper. It proceeded toward the shallow reefs when it should have awaited a pilot boat escort. The ship ran aground on the reef, and the captain and 26 man crew boarded two lifeboats. When the ship held steady for around an hour, the captain ordered his lifeboat to return to ship to try to salvage what they could. The lifeboat capsized in a large wave. Eight of the men were able to re-board the City of York, while one was picked up by the other lifeboat. The other eleven men, including the captain, drowned. In the end, much of the cargo was salvaged, but the ship itself was not. We had seen the ship's recovered anchor on display near the pier at Thomson Bay Settlement.

In response to this and other tragedies, a second lighthouse was built on Rottnest Island, at Bathurst Point in the northeast.

It was very interesting to tour the lighthouse. The inside walls are straight; which means that the depth of walls is significantly thicker at the top than at the bottom. We climbed a total of 155 steps on a wrought iron spiral staircase, with stops on several landings to take in the views from the windows. Our volunteer guide gave us a very iteresting oral history of the lighthouse, and pointed out various features (including a lightning rod running down the interior wall).

When we got to the top, we admired the lamp and the clockwork mechanism. Our guide gave us binoculars and he opened the steel door. We stepped outside onto the catwalk which surround the lighthouse and we got gorgeous 360 degree views of the island, the ocean, and the surrounding reefs.

After descending, we explored what remains of the original lighthouse and keeper's house. All of the volunter staff here are so friendly and kind, and one woman literally laid in the driveway to get the proper perspective for a group photo of us next to the lighthouse!

The sun was strong and I was feeling thirsty. Just across from the lighthouse was a funky food trailer called "Lexi's on Rotto." The trailer was sided with copper ceiling tiles, and we each decided to get a refreshing milkshake. Sonam Choki and I got vanilla, Craig got strawberry, and Sonam Tshering got chocolate. We sat on old school beach chairs, enjoying the view (and also seeing the next group of tourists explore the top of the lighthouse). It was a nice way to recharge, and a selfie I posted of myself enjoying the milkshake was picked up by Lexi's and used in their Instagram story for the day. The zeitgeist of this trip coincides with the environmental backlash against plastic straws. The waxed paper straws which Lexi's provided were awesome - they fully held up to the thick milkshakes. We were quite impressed!

After our snack, we walked back down to bus stop #8, but we had just missed the bus (it was running a bit off the posted schedule) so we waited in the shaded bus shelter for the next one.

By now the bus was quite crowded and we had to stand. Luckily, there were plenty of handrails. We rode to Stop #11, West End, because we wanted to see the New Zealand fur seals. We walked down a short path through the sand dunes to the Cathedral Rocks viewing platform, which overlooks the reef. The platform was quite spacious and there were binoculars there, but despite the many signs telling you to stay on the platform and not trample the fragile ecosystem, many people insisted on walking through the flora to get to rocks from which they could get a closer look at the seals. This was also a bummer for those of us who were following the rules, because it means that we had people in the foreground of all of our photos. I heard several people grumbling about karma in reference to those rule-breakers.

The seals were lazing in the bay, holding their flippers above the water line. It reminded me of women who try to swim without getting their hair wet. It was quite amusing.

While there I saw a spray on the ocean and soon I heard neighboring people talking about whale sightings. It was indeed a whale (one lady thinks it is a southern right whale and calf). Sonam Choki mentioned that the only thing that would make it better would be dolphins. Ask and you shall receive: wouldn't you know it, a pod of dolphins frolicked past!

The West End and its marine life are very important to the Whadjuk Noongar people.

Today, the Island is known by Whadjuk people as the resting place of the spirits. The Island is considered to be a place of transition between the physical and spiritual world and the spirit of the deceased is believed to travel to Wadjemup during its journey towards to the afterlife. When the spirit is ready to leave the physical world it moves to the west end of the Island, where the whale takes the spirit on to its final resting place known as Kooranup, located on the horizon in the deep ocean west of the Island. From this traditional cultural context Whadjuk people consider the Island to be a spiritual paradise.

- Rottnest Is / About the Island / Our History

We saw a skink in the underbrush beneath the viewing platform. Sonam Choki did not like that at all. Later, when there was one at the same level of the platform and right next to her feet, Craig specifically kept her occupied so she wouldn't notice it.

The crowds thinned out as people went to catch the next bus. We lingered for a while. Now that people had gone, we were able to get some panoramic photos of the landscape without people in the foreground where they are not supposed to be. Sonam Choki cut up some pears and we had a bit of a picnic on the benches at the viewing platform.

We walked back down the path to the main road, and continued toward Cape Vlamingh (named after Captain Vlamingh, who had given the island its moniker "Rottnest / Rat's Nest"). We walked past the resting place of the Kiryo Maru, a 118-foot Japanese tuna boat which ran aground in the reef off Cathedral Rocks in 1984. A placard commemorated the vessel, and we saw its anchor.

There was a nice sheltered cove at Cape Vlamingh, and a small boat had stopped here in its calm waters. It reminded us of the times we used to pull up at Peter Bay in St. John, USVI each year on Captain Marty's Island Hop to take a swim and have some breakfast.

We walked back to Bus Stop #11, where a mob of people were already waiting for the bus. The bus was quite crowded again; we can't even imagine what it must be like in high tourist season! As the bus made its way along the northern coast of the island, the driver relayed information about the various sites that we passed.

We passed City of York Bay, named after the ship which ran aground on the reef there in 1899. We continued past the salt lakes which provided the salt supply for all of Western Australia in the mid-19th century. We could see the salt deposits on the lakeshore from the bus. The bus driver explained that the lakes which are usually pink from large populations of brine shrimp are not pink right now due to excessive rainfall. The color likely won't return until the mid-summer.

There is a theory the species [of brine shrimp] was introduced on imported salt harvesting equipment in the nineteenth century. Apparently there are no males in the population. The female brine shrimps have evolved a way to procreate without them.

- Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

We got off the bus at the penultimate stop, #19, Geordie Bay. By now we were pretty hungry for lunch. Luckily for us, Geordie's Cafe had just opened for the season yesterday. They had indoor and outdoor dining, and we opted for indoors. Craig and I each got cheeseburgers with beer battered fries. The Sonams opted to split an order of spaghetti with broccolini and a side order of fries. The restaurant had a cool vibe.

The Sonams were wondering why there were so many paintings hung on the walls. We explained that the restaurant doubled as an art gallery, and that these paintings, most of which depicted scenes of Rottnest Island, were for sale. After learning this, they were equally stymied with sticker shock at the prices.

By the time we finished our late lunch it was 3 p.m. We needed be back at Thomson Bay Settlement by 4 p.m. in order to catch the 4:30 ferry back to Fremantle. The bus would take us directly to the Settlement, but we wanted to go to at least one of the island's beautiful beaches while we were here.

We asked our server what our best option would be. She was extremely friendly and helpful, explaining how we could take a hiking trail which would allow us to walk on the picturesque Pinky Beach and pass by the Bathurst Lighthouse. This sounded good to us, and we should have just enough time to get there if we kept a steady pace.

The island reminds us very much of Martha's Vineyard or Cape Cod, with lots of beach grass and sand dunes, bike paths and rolling hills. We followed a paved walking/bike path which led us overland through sand dunes and beach grass until we popped out on the shore of Longreach Bay, with a view of powder white sand and dozens of boats moored in the beautiful turquoise water.

Since no cars are allowed on the island, alternatives to the bus are walking and bicycles. We passed many holiday cottages, and it was apparent that this would be a great place to unwind, unplug, and enjoy nature for a few days.

On the inland hillside, bushes had been planted to try to minimize erosion. The seedlings were each surrounded by a small cylindrical cage to protect them from hungry quokkas who love their tender shoots. Bicyclists carrying surfboards passed by. Large windswept gnarled trees with textured bark gave shady grottoes a gothic feel.

We left the paved path and took a sandy trail to emerge onto the beach at The Basin. Sonam Choki took her shoes off and walked in the water. Craig and I were tempted to do so, but we knew that we had to keep moving to keep to the time table. With Craig's balance issues, he can't simply slip off his shoes and slip them back on again quickly. He would need to sit down to take them off and put them back on, not to mention trying to get rid of the sand. So we contented ourselves with touching the water and the incredibly soft white sand.

We took another path through the sea grass and sand dunes and popped out at Pinky Beach, a beautiful semicircular stretch of fine white sand leading to Bathurst Lighthouse. This was the second lighthouse built on the island. It was constructed in 1900, is 19.2 meters tall, and has a range of 14 knots. It was automated in 1920. We climbed the white wooden steps to the base of the lighthouse. The moon was visible in the bright blue sky.

The Sonams were taking some photos at the lighthouse. Craig and I were conscious of the clock. Since we are slower walking than they are, we told them we would continue on and we were sure they would be able to catch up to us soon.

As we walked, we saw several quokkas preparing for their nocturnal activities. We were glad that we had already had such great interactions under our belt so that we weren't tempted to stop to observe them now.

We got to a wooden staircase which led down to the beach along Thomson Bay. Still no sign of the Sonams. It was obviously low tide, and large swaths of seaweed littered the beach. We walked the length of the beach (avoiding tripping on mooring ropes), and arrived at the vistor's center at 3:50. We were glad that we had kept going, as this gave us just enough time to use the rest room and buy a souvenir gift for Sonam Choki (a stuffed quokka).

Sonam Choki sent us a message, asking where we were. They were still at the lighthouse. I explained that we had gone ahead to the visitor's center and had thought that they understood to catch up with us when they were ready. They had misunderstood and said they would be right there.

At 3:57 p.m., we saw them walking down the beach towards us. We went to the dock, which was mobbed with people queueing for their return ferries. It was hard to tell which queue was which, and before we got in line we walked to the front of the line to ensure that this was indeed our departure. We then went to the back of the line and waited for about 5 minutes before realizing that they pulled a switcheroo on us, and the line we were in was now for a different departure.

So we walked further down the pier and found our boat, which was already boarding. Luckily, we were still able to find seats. By now we were exhausted. It had been a long day in the sun, and we had done quite a bit of walking on hilly terrain and uneven sand.

We arrived in Fremantle at 5 p.m. There were some cool restaurants and bars near the pier. One had live blues music. Craig and I were partially tempted to suggest stopping for a drink and enjoying the blues band, but we decided against it for a variety of reasons: we had just eaten, so we didn't need food, the Sonams don't drink alcohol, but most of all, we were just too tired.

But it solidified in our minds tht we would definitely love to return and explore Fremantle in the future.

On our way home, we stopped at the 7-11 around the corner from their house. We got some Gatorade to rehydrate ourselves after a day in the sun, and Sonam Tshering bought some potato chips. When we got back to the house, Nim was home from work. We chatted with him in the living room. We weren't hungry for dinner, so we had tea and snacked on potato chips and fruit.

When 8 o'clock came around, I could no longer keep my eyes open. I said my goodnights and headed off to bed. Craig lasted an hour longer, retiring at 9. It had been an epic day, and we were so happy to be able to share it with our dear Bhutanese son and daughter-in-law!