Rottnest
Rottnest Island is AMAZING! I spent the whole day there yesterday- even got up at 6am to catch the 8:30am ferry because Nicky guilted me into it. And I didn't get home till 7:30pm, at which point I was absolutely dead. I basically destroyed my body (so I felt last night)- my butt was killing me from biking around, I got way too much sun (my KNEES were burned!!), and I just couldn't post in that state. Today it is a lot better. What I thought was a horrible sunburn has actually faded into a dark tan, and my body is still sore but bearable. My goal is to not do anything today- definitely not sit in the sun- and just recover.
So, this was my day yesterday. I left Cottesloe at 7am, caught the train to Fremantle and the ferry to Rottnest. I hired a bike for the day and started my circut of the island. I stopped at Little Parakeet Bay, recommended by Nicky. The bay, like most of the others I visited, was a little sandy cove with rocks sticking out in the water on either side. The water was incredibly clear and shallow. You can't really swim, just sit in the water. And there's the reef. I cooled off in the water and then decided to try snorkeling. It was insane! I was floating around, through these channels in the reef, looking at fish (!!). I'm not going to lie, it was a little freaky. I kept getting disorienting and imagining that because I could look down and see a dark chasm full of swimming fish that I must be was out in the middle of the ocean. In fact I was two feet from the shore. It was so cool, I can't even describe how cool it was. Unfortunately, after a while I felt a little sea sick and had to stop. I ate some lunch on the beach and decided to keep biking to find a less crowded bay.
Part of my goal for the day was to find a deserted or near deserted beach. I was biking away from the settlement waiting to find such a place, and I saw a pretty empty beach down a fork in the road. But, there was also a path down towards the water, over some rocks and I thought that there might be another tiny cove separated from the larger beach. Well, I was right! I walked down this path, thinking "I better not sprain my ankle" and taking very very careful steps, and I came to this rocky cove which had just enough sand to sit down and get comfortable. I was so excited!!! I found my very own beach, below this little cliff. It was so perfect and quiet. I sat in the water, I snorkeled again, I laid on the rocks, it was fantastic. And, this time when I was snorkeling I saw something really cool. I was looking into this little cave/hole in the reef and I see something bring orange and curled up- like some kind of eel. It was very cool looking and I half hoped it would come out of the hole so I could see it better, but I was also a little worried that it might be evil and poisonous, so I didn't get too close to it. I still don't know what it was, but maybe someone who feels like using google could take a guess.
Speaking of wild life, I also saw an ospery (although I didn't realize what it was at the time), a lizard, a peacock, some very cute birds that looked a bit like seagulls but with black spikey features on their heads, and also the famous quokka (a large rodent found only on Rottnest). It was a very action packed day. After leaving my private beach I kept biking around the island, I stopped once more to cool off in the water again, and that's when I started to realize how tired I was. I biked back to the main settlement, Thompson Bay, bought some postcards, returned the bike, discovered that I was a deep shade of red, and waited for the ferry to take me home.
Now I am recovering, as I said before, and trying to not do anything. Tonight I'm going to watch the Australia Day fireworks and have a picnic with Nicky and a group of her friends. And tomorrow I'm up at 6am again to leave on my tour of the southwest. If I don't get a chance to write tonight, the next post will be from Dunsborough!
Love always,
Emma
So, this was my day yesterday. I left Cottesloe at 7am, caught the train to Fremantle and the ferry to Rottnest. I hired a bike for the day and started my circut of the island. I stopped at Little Parakeet Bay, recommended by Nicky. The bay, like most of the others I visited, was a little sandy cove with rocks sticking out in the water on either side. The water was incredibly clear and shallow. You can't really swim, just sit in the water. And there's the reef. I cooled off in the water and then decided to try snorkeling. It was insane! I was floating around, through these channels in the reef, looking at fish (!!). I'm not going to lie, it was a little freaky. I kept getting disorienting and imagining that because I could look down and see a dark chasm full of swimming fish that I must be was out in the middle of the ocean. In fact I was two feet from the shore. It was so cool, I can't even describe how cool it was. Unfortunately, after a while I felt a little sea sick and had to stop. I ate some lunch on the beach and decided to keep biking to find a less crowded bay.
Part of my goal for the day was to find a deserted or near deserted beach. I was biking away from the settlement waiting to find such a place, and I saw a pretty empty beach down a fork in the road. But, there was also a path down towards the water, over some rocks and I thought that there might be another tiny cove separated from the larger beach. Well, I was right! I walked down this path, thinking "I better not sprain my ankle" and taking very very careful steps, and I came to this rocky cove which had just enough sand to sit down and get comfortable. I was so excited!!! I found my very own beach, below this little cliff. It was so perfect and quiet. I sat in the water, I snorkeled again, I laid on the rocks, it was fantastic. And, this time when I was snorkeling I saw something really cool. I was looking into this little cave/hole in the reef and I see something bring orange and curled up- like some kind of eel. It was very cool looking and I half hoped it would come out of the hole so I could see it better, but I was also a little worried that it might be evil and poisonous, so I didn't get too close to it. I still don't know what it was, but maybe someone who feels like using google could take a guess.
Speaking of wild life, I also saw an ospery (although I didn't realize what it was at the time), a lizard, a peacock, some very cute birds that looked a bit like seagulls but with black spikey features on their heads, and also the famous quokka (a large rodent found only on Rottnest). It was a very action packed day. After leaving my private beach I kept biking around the island, I stopped once more to cool off in the water again, and that's when I started to realize how tired I was. I biked back to the main settlement, Thompson Bay, bought some postcards, returned the bike, discovered that I was a deep shade of red, and waited for the ferry to take me home.
Now I am recovering, as I said before, and trying to not do anything. Tonight I'm going to watch the Australia Day fireworks and have a picnic with Nicky and a group of her friends. And tomorrow I'm up at 6am again to leave on my tour of the southwest. If I don't get a chance to write tonight, the next post will be from Dunsborough!
Love always,
Emma
1 Comments:
And by "black spikey features" I meant, "black spikey feathers".
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