Rottnest Island

What a find!  We will definitely be going back there.  Rottnest is a small island 22km off the coast of Australia and a short (but rather expensive) ferry ride from Perth.  We took a five night break there in April which coincided with our visits from Pat and Lindsay.  It was pure paradise.

I think the fact that we a) stayed at Geordie Bay far from the crowd; b) had six other families in their own cabins share our experience; and c) had fabulous weather conditions, made it nothing short of perfect.


I know I should have taken my camera out more but I was simply having too much fun to be bothered.  The island, which is 11km long and spans a width of 5km at the widest point is a car-free (and carefree!) zone.  Most visitors use bicycles to get around and explore.  There is a bus for those less able (or lazy) that cruises between the bays.  Lindsay arrived on the island straight from her International flight and we met her at the dock.  She opted not to hire a bike, saying she would share and run a bit.  We all had bikes and Hugo was attached to my bike by his awesome tag-along.  The net result was that Lindsay and I spent most of the five days taking turns to either hall Hugo up and over the many hills or to run the distance to keep up with the biking gang!  It was a fitness first week which counteracted the incredible barbecue dinners and many bottles of wine!

Each little bay is unique in some way.  The sea is crystal clear and warm and the prolific fish are tame enough to make a feast of snorkeling in shallow waters.  The sand is white and squeaky and quite often our little party of six were the only people in sight.

The very basic cabins overlook the sea which makes for a tranquil start and end to the day.  It is a place of swimming and castle building, SUP boarding and sun bathing.  We had a summer fling that took us into autumn sun kissed and relaxed.  Island living is stunning.