My Roy can be hard to pin down when he doesn’t want to do something. The mouth says: yes, sure, let’s do that sometime. But the eyes – and sometimes a slight twitch in the right eyebrow – say: no, I don’t think so, probably never.

That’s how it’s been about Rottnest Island, located just off Perth, WA. I’d been trying to get there for the past four years, and it just wasn’t happening.

Rottnest Island is a short ferry ride from Perth, the WA capital. We did get very close to it a couple of years ago, as my husband kindly reminds me. Here are the January 2016 pictures to prove it: the two of us went on a luxury catamaran cruise around the island – a Christmas gift from the kids.

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The comfortable craft stopped at several snorkelling sites, where I remember the water being challengingly chillier and the fish far fewer than in the Maldives. (I know, I know – I’ve been terribly spoilt.) I boarded a kayak and tried to make a break for land, but they called me back.

So when my old friend Sue from Durban offered to introduce me to Rotto*, I leapt at the chance. Sue, Russell and family have lived in WA for over 20 years and spent many a summer holiday on the island while the kids were growing up, so she knows a lot about its history and its geography – every twisting road, each white-sand beach and all the best swimming and snorkelling spots.

Cheap on Tuesdays

Tuesdays are good for a day trip to Rottnest. Rottnest Express does a Tuesday special – just A$39 return from Perth’s neighbouring port town of Fremantle, plus $20 bike hire. You can easily pay more than twice that for exactly the same service, so it’s worth comparing what’s available.

I’d heard that the 25-minute crossing can be horrible, but Susan and I lucked in with a windless day and unusually calm conditions. Once there, the sun was warm and the breeze was cool. It was simply perfect.

 

What’s in a name?

Rottnest – meaning rats’ nest – was named by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh. What he and his crew thought were rats were actually quokkas – not rodents at all, but small, cute marsupials. They’re nocturnal, so tend to come out in their numbers in the late afternoon.

The island has long been a popular getaway both for locals and overseas tourists. But this season’s visitor figures were at an all-time high, partly due, they say, to Roger Federer’s quokka selfie going viral last year.

Since then, everybody’s been wanting a quokka selfie, and here’s mine, below. (If I’m to be strictly honest, this one wasn’t technically a selfie – Susan lent a helping hand.) Apart from being useless at taking selfies, my arms aren’t as long as Roger’s.

“Rotto”

“Rotto” is what Aussies call Rottnest Island. I can’t yet bring myself to call it that; I haven’t been here long enough. Sue, an English teacher and a bit of a stickler, admits that it took quite a number of years of living in Western Australia before she managed to choke it out.

I assume she’s still working on other favourite Aussie diminutives like “arvo” (afternoon), “ambo” (ambulance paramedic), “bottle-o” (liquor or bottle store), “smoke-o” (tea break), “rego” (car registration) and “servo” (petrol service station”.

Did you know that “selfie” – the Oxford Dictionary’s 2013 word of the year – originated in Australia? It’s not surprising.

Bikies

On arrival at Thomson Bay, the bikes were offloaded from the ferry and we picked them up  from the jetty, together with the mandatory helmets. Our bikes were new, sturdy, and had seats as close to comfortable as such things can possibly be.

Brekkie

The Bakery at Thomson Bay is justly famous; this roast lamb and rosemary pie was one of the best pastries I’ve ever encountered. (It came a close second to my late granny’s mutton ribbetjie casserole topped with very short pastry through which the little rib bones poked.)

There’s a bit of shopping in Thompson Bay, too: not only a big, bright supermarket where you can stock up on water before you set off on your bikes, but a few high-end boutiques selling elegant beachwear.

History

Being the good and thoughtful human being that she is, Susan made a point of briefing me on some of Rottnest’s sad 100-year-long history from 1838 as a prison for Aboriginal boys and men. Most of them had been charged with only minor offences, and they were incarcerated in inhumane conditions.

In Noongar Aboriginal mythology, the island was called Wadjemup – the place where the spirits are.

 

Getting around

A major charm of Rottnest is that motorised vehicles aren’t allowed, except for the odd service vehicle. You get around by bike to visit the various beautiful and unspoilt beaches. We had our swim at picturesque The Basin, close to the spot where I found my quokka.

But unless you’re a major bike enthusiast with calves of steel, the island is too big to cover satisfactorily in one day. What’s more, parts of it are hilly. The hop-on, hop-off Explorer bus ($20) is a good way to get a feel for the place, while plotting your return next time to the beaches that especially take your fancy.

Staying for longer

There seems to be something intrinsically soothing about an island, and I’d love to spend a week or at least a few days unwinding on this one.

The Rottnest Island Authority chalets tend not to be fancy, says Susan, but are quite comfortable enough: for example, they have fans instead of air-conditioning. Expect to pay roughly A$200 a night for a four-bed unit.

For a high-season stay, it’s best to book 18 months ahead, which is when bookings open. (It’s on my list for next year, Roy!)