Today I met a quokka! A quokka? Read on ...
Up early and we headed to the river to catch the Rottnest Express - a ferry that took us to the nearby Rottnest Island -on a journey that lasted around 90 minutes ... via the Swan River, Freemantle and Indian Ocean.
The island is a favourite escape for the people of Perth and is a huge tourist attraction. It once housed the Governor's summer house but now - run by local government - is a sanctuary for flora & fauna ... but allows visitors stay on the island as a holiday escape. The island is just 11 x 4 kms in dimension and boasts 63 lovely white, fine sandy beaches!
No cars are allowed ... so most people cycle or take a cute little mini-train around the island.
The first Europeans to discover the island were Dutch and they saw this small tailed cuddly brown rodent-looking creature bouncing around and decided it was a large rat ... and the name "Rottnest" was given to the island! A quokka is a marsupial ... and is NOT rat-like ... they are cute ... and very, very sweet!
Anyway - we met up with our delightful guide Adene Tinetti - who took us on an Eco-tour of the island's coast where we did see some lovely New Zealand Fur Seals and Osprey Eagle nests ... we had to cut short the tour as the Ocean was rather choppy ... not great for filming! Jack was feeling rather ill ... poor chap ...
Lunch at the Hotel Rottnest was fabulous! Amazing fresh seafood ... amazing! This is where I met the quokka by the way!
After lunch - with tummies bulging - Tim & I headed off into the skies above in a Cessna to film the island and Perth ...
We are back at The Richardson hotel now ... and off to explore the city! Yay!
Quokka! I want one ... !
