A beautiful Sunday morning in Perth, WA brought the perfect opportunity to experience Rottnest Island for the first time. After reading through the Rottnest Express brochure ample times, I was very much looking forward to seeing the “5 Awesome Reasons to Visit Rottnest” first hand. After a full day of exploring the island, I can confidently say there are whole lot more than 5 reasons to visit this magical place in Australia.
Departing from Perth City, Allan and I jumped onto the Rottnest Express Ferry bringing us along the river to Fremantle and onwards to Rottnest Island. The Rottnest Express is decked out with an upper and lower seating deck, outside viewing platform and café to purchase drinks and snacks. Before we knew it we were approaching Rottnest and our day of exploring by land and water was ready to begin!
Welcome to Rottnest Island!
When we arrived we met up with our friend Annie, and we all grabbed our bikes, snorkels and maps and begin our journey along the south coast of Rottnest. Our first stop of the day was for some Quokka spotting. Quokkas are known to attract visitors to Rottnest from near and far due to their adorable smiles, teddy-bear like appearance, and inquisitive nature. There are nearly 18,000 quokkas that live on Rottnest Island, and can be spotted along the trails, in the bush and sometimes lounging on the beaches! Make sure to get your souvenir Quokka #selfie before you leave – it might gain you a few more followers on Instagram!
Aren’t they adorable! – Quokkas of Rottnest Island.
There are 62 sandy beaches and 20 secluded bays nestled into Rottnest Island’s landscape – giving you various options of snorkeling spots and tanning opportunities to choose from!
Little Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island.
We continued along the coastal bike trail and made our way to our first of many beach stops for the day, Porpoise Bay. Porpoise Bay has beautiful white sand, and is perfect for walking and snorkeling. It is backed with steep dunes and cliffs and presents with views of the Australia mainland in the distance. Another attractive quality for people interested in snorkeling around Porpoise Bay is the “Lady Elizabeth” Shipwreck of 1878, which is located metres off the beach in-between Rottnest and Dyer Island.
Snorkelling the Lady Elizabeth Shipwreck.
After dragging our sun-kissed bodies off the sand, we jump onto our bikes and headed west on the island towards Salmon Bay. Before we managed to get to Salmon Bay we got stopped by the beautiful conditions of it’s baby sister; Little Salmon Bay. Little Salmon Bay is in the island’s southernmost promontory that also contains Parker Point and Salmon Bay. This area of the island is known as one of the best snorkeling spots around Rottnest Island, suitable for all levels of snorkeling. The bay is rich in marine life and presents with some of the best coral reefs on Rottnest! Parker Point (located just East of Little Salmon Bay) is another great snorkeling spot as it is always full of diverse fish life! If you are all snorkeled out for the day, Parker Point is nonetheless a beautiful lookout point where you can sit and admire the beauty of Rottnest’s coastline.
Rottnest Island coastline by bike. Stunning!
As our return ferry to the mainland was set to pick us up from the terminal shortly after 4pm, we began our bike journey back to the entrance. Along the way we kept our eyes open for Quokkas on the trails, and we didn’t hesitate to stop for one last #selfie to end off the day as it began.
Making new friends on Rottnest Island.
A full day on Rottnest Island with Rottnest Express: Experience Rottnest gave us a good taste of how beautiful and diverse this Island is on land and underwater! With only a quarter of the island explored, I look forward to revisiting soon to explore the remaining beaches, secluded bays and adorable Quokka hideaways – you truly could spend days on end exploring the hidden secrets of Rottnest’s landscape.
Photos: Allan Dixon (instagram.com/daxon)
With thanks to Rottnest Express. https://www.rottnestexpress.com.au/
Sams Wanderful Life 
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