Day 8: Rottnest Island and a bad day diving

Rottnest Island is located off the WA coast, near Fremantle. It was named in 1696 by a Dutch sailor who mistook the island's small indigenous marsupial, the Quokka, for a large rat. Rottnest means Rat's nest.

Today the island is a holiday destination, with its many beautiful bays and beachs attracting day trippers and holiday makers to make the most of swimming, cycling, boating and surfing. The Quokka are still numerous, and are one of the main attractions.

They are incredibly cute and confiding, if a little dozy. The first I saw (after several hours of not seeing one, and thinking I never would) was scavenging around the tables in one of the cafes. It was so confiding that it was sniffing at people's feet under the table, and tickling them with its whiskers.

After that they came thick and fast on my walk back to catch the ferry, foraging about under trees and in grassy areas. And they really didn't mind if you walked up close and stuck a camera in their faces.

So, my day, chasing birds (a few more new species ticked off) and small furry marsupials in the sun on a beautiful island, was very good.

Shame about Darran and Emma's day. They both went out to dive near Rottnest, but only managed the one dive, and that one they had to cut short. The swell under the water was so bad they both were finding it very difficult, but as they both suffer from sea sickness it also made them both ill. They had to cut their first dive short, miss lunch, and then also miss the second dive of the day. And as if that wasn't bad enough, they dozed off on the back of the boat, and are just now, as I am sat typing, applying thick layers of aftersun to very red legs..........

More news soon,

Cheryl