I hadn’t been to Rottnest for about twenty years. “Why not?” I hear you ask. “Its only 30 minutes away from Perth.” “Its got beautiful scenery, great beaches for swimming and snorkelling.” “Its got a great ‘vibe’ with lots to see and do (and eat (and drink))”. “Not to mention it’s lack of erupting volcanoes.” Yes, yes shut up – I don’t know – alright!?

Rottnest is a 19 sq km island situated 18 km of the coast of Perth, Western Australia.  Rottnest is an A-class reserve and the natural landscape, coastline and wildlife.have been very well protected. There are few vehicles permitted on the island and no high rise hotels or cheesy attractions.

Jane and her girls had never been to Rottnest before, so we decided to take a weekender with our friends, Gordon and Cristy and Mark and Jacquie.

We caught the last ferry on Friday night from Northport, Fremantle.  As always we were running late which gave Gordon a head start on the beers. The ferry ride over was fast and bumpy which gave the girls a …umm thrill. Mark met us at the Thomson Bay Jetty and escorted us to our new home for the weekend.

We stayed at the Winnit camp, courtesy of former president Mark. The Winnit club founded in the summer of 1930-31, its Rottnest Island’s longest-standing volunteer organisation. While founding members initially came together for annual sailing and camping trips to Rottnest Island, they soon decided they wanted to give something back to their favourite Island. Taken from their web site… more here.

The club house was fairly small but was well stocked and had all the amenities we needed. Mark and Jacquie arrived early to set the place up and prepare the food … there were Filipinos coming. Mark had the esky prep’d with beers … there were Aussies coming. I got stuck into the beers. I had some catching up to do. The ladies got stuck into the Baileys. A whole litre bottle was gone before you could blink.

We had dinner, drinks and lots of laughs before hitting the sack. The club has lots of mattresses and some beds. The kids slept inside while the adults slept outside. It wasn’t too cold and good night’s sleep was had by all. I had some ridiculous idea about getting up at 5 am to take some photos of the sunrise. I did stir at 5 am, but rolled over and mumbled something about “doing it tomorrow”.

We all got up pretty early (for us) though and had a bacon and eggs breakfast. Ready for the day.

Gordon and I went into the settlement for a coffee at The Lane. Gordon had his usual triple espresso. I had a normal coffee. The Lane is right across from the famous Rottnest Island Bakery. Well, we couldn’t resist getting a box of doughnuts to take back for the crew. Nutella filled for Bianca of course.

We caught the tourist bus from the main settlement and set off around the island. There was a strong south-westerly wind blowing which meant the southern bays were not great for swimming. Mark raved about Little Salmon Bay, but it was far too windy and choppy to visit that morning. The Northern bays were going to be much better suited to us. We alighted at Stark Bay. Jane thought the driver said “Shark Bay” and was hesitant to get off. Stark bay has a long beach with pristine white sand and crystal clear water. There was only two other people on the beach. Gordon immediately stripped down to his budgie smugglers and jumped right in the water. The water was freezing, but the girls also got it for a quick swim.

After Stark bay we decided to go back to the camp for lunch (and a nana-nap). We got off the bus at Geordie Bay and walked back to the camp via The Basin. The Basin looked very inviting so went there for a swim after lunch and nap.

After the Basin swim we headed back to the camp – it was beer-o’clock. After dinner we continued drinking and lots of laughs were had. The ladies went for a drunken walk into the settlement. We could hear their giggling all the way. When they came back they were still laughing about “what happens on the drunken Rottnest walk, stays on the drunken Rottnest walk”.

When we had out fill we hit the hay. What a great day!

At 5 am I stirred and failed to get up for the sunrise photoshoot – probably explains why I will never be professional photographer.

Up early again though and Jane and I decided to go for a walk to the Bathurst Lighthouse and Pinky Beach.

The back again to The Basin for more swimming and snorkelling.  After that we decided to go to the Hotel Rottnest for lunch. Pizzas and Fish and Chips were popular and surprisingly not that expensive.

After lunch we returned to the camp for the big cleanup and packing for the trip home. Watching the Aussies belt the Poms in the first test capped off a great weekend.

What a wonderful weekend. Many thanks to Mark for inviting us to his club room and also to Jacquie for preparing most of the food. Hope we can do it again soon.

Rottnest has been rediscovered!