Big day touring off the Western Australian coast

We did a WHOLE day of touring yesterday.  We chose Option 5, which was to have a ferry to Fremantle, a tram tour IN Fremantle, and then a ferry out to Rottnest Island, which is just 19klm off the coast of Perth, and THEN,..a tour coach ride on the island.  Needless to say it was a BIG day.

We were picked up at 7am and taken to the jetty.  It was then we realized that we were REALLY early.  So we wandered around and took a few photos of the general area.

 

 

 

 

Perth is one of the nicest cities I’ve seen.  The air is clear, for one.  The Saturday morning traffic is calm, flowing freely through the city.  So I played with all the different options on the camera trying to get a ‘feel’ for it.  And Chris went to get a warm cup of coffee.

At 9am we headed to Fremantle, towards the mouth of the Swan River.  The overhead speaker telling us about the “who’s who” owning which house, along the shores.

Our Tram and driver, stopped at the top of the highest hill, which was reserved for the Soldiers Memorial.  You’ll notice that the trams now have wheels instead of tracks.  This allowed the driver access to streets so that we could see more of the city.  And after seeing the old historic town, we’ve decided that we might head there tomorrow for the Fremantle Markets and more photos.

These markets opposite the jetty, allowed us to grab a quick bite to eat before heading off the Rottnest Island.

 

We landed on Rottnest Island, noticing the pristine waters that are similar to other areas in Australia. 

There are MANY moorings here for boats.  And little did I realize what a hotspot it was for tourists.

There’s accommodation here on the island, but there’s a catch.  They run a ballot to pick names out of a hat, so you can have the princely privilege of paying  up to $2000 per week for a unit.  Now mind you, you CAN have up to eight people stay in the unit, but still.  And if it’s in the middle of summer, you can overlook the little bay,…. where today there’s only 3 boats moored.  But in the summer, you won’t be able to SEE the little bay because of the boats being moored. 

And these little guys are called Quokkas.  While they move like a kangaroo, they have a ‘rat-like’ tail on them, but still a marsupial.  Rottnest Island was originally called “Rat’s Nest” Island because of their rat-like appearance.  It was later adopted to Rottnest Island.  These little guys are very cute, but if they eat human foods, they can be come sickly and die.

And because it was an island off the coast of Perth, the colonials decided it was a good spot for a gaol.  But this gaol was for aboriginals and later became a boys farm as well.  And then later closed to become a tourist attraction.

The waters surrounding the island can match any tropical reef in Queensland.  The clarity of the water was fabulous.

 

Most people hired bikes and rode around the island at a more leisurely pace.  But we were on the ‘whirlwind’ tour which captures a bit of everything.

And this morning, we’re off to the Fremantle Markets.  It’s their last day, so we’re hoping to cover that and see a few more historical buildings up close and personal.