Rottnest Island Travel Guide

Rotto is best explored by hiring a bike and peddling around the island. The only cars you will see there belong to island employees. The beaches are the best. The bakery in the town centre is excellent... especially after living on tinned food for a while. Rottnest used to be used to keep Aboriginal prisoners; who were usually sent off their land as trespassers by the white land owners who also happened to be the presiding judges too. Back then it wasn't uncommon for land owners to poison waterholes to kill off whole villages or just send out hunting parties to masacre the local Aboriginal population. Check out the Myall Creek Massacre as the first recognise massacre to be prosecuted in Australia. There is a small memorial to all the Aboriginal people who died on the island. For tourists now the island vibe is very relaxed and the place is gorgeous. There is a cheap camping site or more expensive holiday villas... but cram all your friends in and share the costs. If you are ever in Perth you must do at least a day trip to Rotto and kick back at the Quokka Arms after a day at the beach. BTW Rotto is the only place you will see Quokkas which are a protected species and look like a cross between a rat and a kangaroo.

Jeśli wybieracie się na zachód Australii (Perth) nie można ominąć wyspy Rottnest Island. Można dostać się na nią codziennie promem z Fremantle. Zajmuje to ok 1.5 godziny. Miejsce jest naprawdę piękne. Nie jeżdżą tam samochody a poruszać się można pieszo lub rowerem (wypożyczalnie rowerów zaraz przy wyjściu z promu). Na wyspie możecie spotkać unikalne zwierzątko zwane Quokka. To jakby skrzyżowanie szczura z kangurem, ale jest bardzo sympatyczne i nie znajdziecie go nigdzie indziej na świecie (chyba że w zoo).

Beware of schoolies week!  Schoolies is the week at the end of exams when a large number of year 12 students run amuck and let of steam.  If you don't want to inundated with hundreds of drunk and loud teenagers it's best to avoid Rottnest at this time of the year.  It's usually late November to early December.