Rottnest Island @ Perth, Western Australia

One of the must do thing in our bucket list during our Perth Trip is to meet the world happiest animal - Quokka in Rottnest Island, Western Australia! So if you are going to Perth, remember to put this into your itinerary as well. Read on to find out more! 😄😄😄

As usual, we did our homework before the Perth Trip and knowing that we were going to see Quokka, it got us very excited! In case you would like to know, Quokka is a small macropod about the size of a cat, mainly found in Rottnest Island which is located 18 kilometers west of Fremantle. We went early in the morning during our Day 5 of Perth Trip. 

We chose to take our ferry departed from B Shed Victoria Quay at 9.30am, so we parked our rented car nearby with a daily rate of $10 as we spent the whole day at Rottnest Island. Be sure to bring coins for the carpark machine unless you have other payment card. We paid $64 per person for the ferry fare and $30 per bike rental from Rottnest Express. 

Rottnest Express ferry took 30 minutes to arrived at Rottnest Island from B Shed Victory Quay. The ferry was comfortable but the waves were choppy that day. Upon arriving at Rottnest Island, we were too eager to get our rented bikes to kick start our mission to round the island! The bikes were quite standard with adjustable seat-height, bike gears and even came with the safety helmet.

Unfortunately, just about 10 minutes of ride, bae fell off from her bike as she was not comfortable with the height of the bike even adjusted to the lowest. Thankfully she was okay with just some bruises at her thigh. 😌 We had to returned the bike and shared one together, even though it was not recommended by the Rottnest Island staff as the bike was designed for single rider only. 

After the "not-so-smooth start", we continued our ambitious journey to round the island! According to the map, there were 3 bike trails each with the distance of 4km, 10km and 22km. Our initial plan was to complete the 22km round-island bike trail. Obstacles like the accident, the chilly breeze, the strong wind and the steep road were not going to stop us! 💪💪💪

After half an hour ride, the first stop we had was at Henrietta Rocks. With the endless uphill and downhill roads, we needed the break badly. There is a wooden stairways connecting down to the beach. Now thinking back, I think we all agreed that we should be glad that we did went down to take photos! YOU KNOW WHY?! 

Henrietta Rocks is THE ONLY POINT OF INTEREST that we went to! Yes, after the stop at Henrietta Rocks, we went on for about 20 minutes before IT STARTED TO RAIN! We reached Porpoise Bay and saw the map there only to realize that we were not even half way yet while the sky was all dark.  Just when we decided to make a U-turn, it started to drizzle. 

To be honest, we were still struggling to wonder if our decision was correct while making the U-turn back. As we get closer to the main jetty where we arrived with the ferry, the drizzle stopped. 😩😩😩 We went to Family Fun Park nearby to take our late lunch before going on a search for Quokka - the main reason why we came to Rottnest Island. 

I was quite disappointed that I did not get to go to those beautiful beaches with crystal clear water such as Salmon Bay, Little Armstrong Bay and many more that I have seen from the internet. But I think it was a correct call given that we overestimated our cycling ability, underestimated the steep road, as well as the bad weather! (maybe just an excuse for being tired!)😂

Well, thankfully we still managed to see Quokka! We keep looking here and there, only to realize that there was one at the Family Fun Park where we had our lunch. We were so lucky to see the female Quokka with the baby joey hiding inside the mother's pouch. They are SO ADORABLE!😍😍😍

 

After that, we went walking around the main jetty as we were taking the 2.30pm ferry back to B Shed Victoria Quay. Surprisingly, we found even more Quokkas near to the jetty. However, most of them were male Quokkas and some of them were even sleeping. Not sure if is the chilly weather, the Quokkas curled into a ball with their head between their legs, but still, they are very cute! 

Similar to the macropod family of kangaroo and wallabies, Quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal (active during the night and sleeping during the day). So given that we saw them during the afternoon, we can be considered quite lucky. Unlike many other animals, the quokka, which has a "vulnerable" conservation status, isn't very scared of humans. 😻😻😻

If you are wondering why Quokka is the world happiest animal, just look at how they smile to the camera! Okay maybe they do not do it on purpose but given their friendly nature, it was rather easy to capture a smiling Quokka! Tips: Keep the camera angle low from the ground, get ready behind of them and snap continuously! 

After done taking photos with Quokkas, we just rest at the bench and enjoyed the snacks we brought along. Around 2.15pm, we rode back to the jetty to return our rented bikes and safety helmet. On our ferry back, it started to rain again. So once again, perhaps our decision was right! ✌✌✌

Overall, I think we can be very grateful for the whole journey in Rottnest Island. We met the happiest animal in the world which can only be found mainly in Rottnest Island. We managed to take selfie with their smiling face and that photo itself worth it all! If given the chance I would want to go back again to enjoy the sandy beach and snorkel in the crystal clear water. 

Rottnest Express

https://www.rottnestexpress.com.au/

Remember do not feed the animals on Rottnest Island!

And also obey all the other rules on Rottnest Island.

Fail to comply may be fined heavily on the spot! 

Thanks for reading such a long post, I hope it is informative for you. Do stay tuned for the video to find out the full story of our journey there! Feel free to comment below if you would like to ask anything!