Day 10: A Rat's Nest and a town

29 June, 2017
Today we visited a nearby island called Rottnest Island, then walked around the downtown of the town that we are staying at (Fremantle).

Rottnest Island began as a settlement, but then the settler's were cleared out for the establishment of an aboriginal prison.  The indigenous peoples were often arrested and convicted for very minor crimes and disturbances, then sent to the prison on the island.  Eventually, a juvenile detention center for boys was also set up there (for both aboriginal and white boys).  Eventually it was settled and is now a resort area.  It is winter, so there weren't as many people there on holiday.  In their summer, it is evidently packed and reservations need to be made for accommodations a year in advance.  We weren't staying on the island, just visiting as a day trip.  We took the ferry there--the only way there.  There are some vehicles on the island, but not many.  Most transport is by bike, tour bus, and golf cart.  Because of the different levels of fitness in our group, we opted to take a tour bus to see the island instead of bikes (it is about 13-14 miles around and quite hilly).  The tour leader had many stories about the island, but I didn't particularly like him.  The bus only let us off for photos twice, the other times we were expected to take them out of the windows of the bus.  Everything was on the left hand side of the bus--I was on the right hand side so I had to stand and lean over the people there.  We got off once at the lighthouse and once at a bay.

Our ferry

Joshua

The light area is where the white sand is

Indian Ocean

Wadjemup Lighthouse

lighthouse stairs

Island church and schoolhouse

Island church and schoolhouse

Joshua

There are Quokkas everywhere (I had photos of them from Day 8 at Caversham).  They are marsupials that are native to Rottnest Island and are the reason for the name.  The first explorers saw them and named the island; Rott means Rat, so Rat's Nest Island.  The aboriginal name is Wadjemup which evidently means "the place across the water where the great spirits live."  We also saw ospreys and a peacock.  Also the fins of seals in the water, but no whales or dolphins, unfortunately.   Quokkas have two fertilized embryos each time they mate.  One crawls up into the pocket while the other remains in suspension.  If the first does not live, the second will take it's place, if not, the second dissolves.  Nature's way of continuing the species.  After the bus tour, we walked around the town a bit and got a snack (I got a sausage roll).  We saw a wind turbine.  The island has one wind turbine and a solar array which provide 45% of their power.  During the summer, they sometimes produce more than they need and the extra powers the desalination plants. Then we went back on the ferry to Fremantle.

Quokka

A quokka and Joshua

This bird makes a cry like a child crying or a sheep bleating

We walked around downtown Fremantle.  Most of it's downtown buildings date from the turn of the century and are being preserved by the city itself.

We then returned to our house and Randy went to the grocery store for dinner.  Oh--about our house.  We are renting a house through Air bnb.  It has three bedrooms, one has two twin beds (Joshua has that), one has a double bed and a twin bed with an en suite bathroom (Kathi and Marian are sharing that), and one has a queen bed (Randy and I share that).  There are the two bathrooms--the en suite and a separate one with a toilet in one room and a soaking tub, shower, and vanity in the other.  We have a kitchen, living room, and dining room.  We haven't used the living room much.  We also have a laundry room which Marian and Kathi have taken advantage of (also washing my jeans and shirt).  We have a side porch with dining space, barbecue, and living space, but we were only here when it was dark (and it's been chilly), so we didn't get to use it at all.  The kitchen is huge with a giant center island.  Tomorrow, it is off to Darwin!