Getting my Quokka selfies on Rottnest Island | Australia

Today is Rottnest Island day! I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time, and I’m super excited to head off. I left my hostel in Fremantle early in the morning and went for the ferry. Come on, when your adventure starts with a ferry, you are in for a good time, no doubt! Rottnest Island is one of the few places left without cars, so I am hiring a bike today to get me around.

The main reason for visiting is to see the quokkas. Whenever I saw those quokkas pop up on YouTube, I couldn’t wait to make my way to Australia and check them out myself. Besides, the island is supposed to be beautiful on both land and sea, and I brought some snorkel gear to make the best of this great weather.

Rottnest Island

The island was named ‘t Eylandt ‘t Rottenest in 1696 by Willem de Vlamingh. This name relates to the quokka population as it means ‘Rats’ nest island. However, the indigenous local Noongar people call it Wadjemup, meaning “place across the water where the spirits are”.

Recent evidence suggests that people already inhabited this place 50,000 years ago. It wasn’t always an island; about 7,000 years ago, it separated from the mainland when sea levels rose. Since then, nobody has lived here permanently. The island covers approximately 19 square kilometres and operates as a protected wildlife sanctuary. Due to the lack of other predators, it is one of the few places in the world where you can find quokkas.

Now, it’s official and double-confirmed. It was a great day biking along those unforgettable shores of Rottnest Island. It was also an excellent plan to bring in the snorkel gear. I’ve been using it a lot as the weather was so fantastic. Okay, and those quokkas are the cutest animals alive. They were already my favourite animal in the world without seeing them in real life.

This day will stick with me for a long time. I will probably remember all these days for the rest of my life, just a little more today. It’s a great start to this adventure in Australia, as it was something I have looked forward to ever since I learned about it.

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