Clear blue water, white sand, snorkelling over reefs, fresh crayfish for lunch, pelicans on the beach and dolphins playing in the distance…it’s summer….and we’re on Rottnest Island!
Rotto is our nickname for Rottnest Island, a small island about 20 kilometres from the West Australian coast, just off Fremantle.
This summer playground for West Australians of all ages is actually a Class A Nature Reserve. No cars are allowed on the island apart from a few work vehicles and the island busses. Ferries from Fremantle and Hillary arrive at the main settlement of Thomson Bay.
The bays around the island are beautiful…there’s plenty to see even if you come for just a day, so rent a bike, grab you snorkel and flippers and head off to explore these stunning bays.
Join me as I flick through my Instagram gallery for January and relive the lazy, summer days of January on Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island in January
Thomson Bay
In Thomson Bay you’ll find the islands most famous inhabitants… the quokka.
Quokkas are small marsupial animals. They are found all over the island but it’s often easier to find them around the food areas even though you are not allowed to feed them! Read all about the quokka and how everyones loves quokkas
We stay in one of the bays further around the island that is away from the crowds.
Catching Crayfish
The most important part of the day is heading out to check the cray pots. This is a daily routine which quickly becomes the main topic of conversation…’how many did you get today’ or ‘the crays aren’t around at the moment’.
Lunch depends on catching a couple of them!
Nature surrounds us. As well as the quokkas on the mainland we have an abundance of bird and animal life to watch coming and going. So far we have not been to see the seals that live a couple of bays away but before summer leaves us, we’ll be sure to visit!
Pelicans
Pelicans are fascinating birds. They are often waiting for us on the beach. It’s the perfect opportunity to watch the peculiar way they bend their necks to sleep and eat. There’s one particular pelican who is quite friendly…we’ve all named him Denis! One day Denis accompanied me as I walked the length of the bay staying only a metre from the shore!
Dolphins
One of the greatest pleasures in life is to sit in a dinghy surrounded by these beautiful creatures of the sea. Sometimes they come into the bay and play around the boat but at other times, especially when there is a large pod, they stay just outside the entrance to the bay. On this particular day there would have been about thirty of them, catching fish and diving around us. Some of the fins are quite gnarled giving us a chance to recognise them each time they visit.
Osprey
There are seven osprey nests on the island and one is on the headland at the end of the bay. We often see them flying over head, gathering food for their babies. The nests are big and surprisingly survive from season to season despite the harsh winter winds and rain.
Sunrise and Sunset
Two beautiful times of the day which are even more stunning at Rottnest
And it’s a sunset that is this month’s most popular instagram photo…..
Would you like to visit Rottnest Island?
Instagram is a fabulous way to see the world. Come and join me at atasteoftravel on Instagram and please let me know your instagram account in the comments. I love to see what everyones up to!
Other articles you may enjoy:
Wildflowers of the West
Finding Fremantle
Keeping Busy in BroomeÂ
Our Summer Hideaway: Rottnest on Instagram
Join the fun of Instagram Travel Thursday and follow fellow instagrammers to see what they’ve been up to.
Stunning! 🙂
Thanks Ana. It was an exceptional meal!
Such an amazing gallery of Rottnest! I was there June last year and it was freezing! It looks so different in January from your photos, even the quokkas seem more alive 🙂
Thanks Jean. Yes, June isn’t really the time to go to Rottnest. You’ll have to come back and visit us in summer!
Beautiful photos!! I miss Rottnest. I loved the photo with the dolphins, have you ever hopped in the water with them as they’re approaching? I did that once at Parker Point, it was amazing but I wished I had goggles on and an underwater camera! They swim by so fast.
I’d love to swim with the dolphins but I’ve never tried to. The kids always wanted to and a couple of times they tried but of course the dolphins disappeared very quickly. It’s still stunning to sit tin the boat and be surrounded by them!
I love how the waters are clear enough that you can see through them. Amazing pictures by the way.
Thanks. The waters around Rottnest easily compete with any in the world. They are stunning!
Although my top priority is to see the sunset, I must admit that the clear water at the beaches of Rottnest Island is so welcoming. I loved the photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Rahman. I’m sure you’d be very happy if you visited Rottnest. The water is beautiful and you’d definitely love the sunsets!
Wow, this island looks amazing!! Australia is on my bucket list, if only the flights weren’t so long one could do a shorter tour to start with…
The flights are long but you do get used to them. The hard thing is to decide which part of Australia you’d like to see first as it’s too big to see it all…but you’ve got to start somewhere. I’m sure after your first visit you’ll want to come back again! I hope you get to visit soon Reeta.
Such beautiful photos – they make me want to hop on a plane right now to enjoy summer in Australia!!
Come and visit Lisa! Maybe we should do a house swap one year!
Oh stop teasing us here in Canada!! Your pictures are so warm and gorgeously hot!
Your turn will come Yashy when the weather changes and we can no longer go to Rottnest! We don’t get snow here so I’d actually love to spend some time in Canada in the winter
Wow what pictures! Never heard of Rottness before, now I really want to go 🙂
Hi Mirje. Rottnest is our own little piece of heaven We’re very lucky that it is not far from the coast and is relatively easy to get to. I hope you can come and visit one day! Thanks for stopping by!
What lovely photos. I love the crayfish lunch. Thanks for linking up to #IGTRAVELThursday.
Thanks Leigh. January was a big instagram month for me so I was happy to. Yes, we love our crayfish!
How lucky you are to be able to relocate to Rotto for the summer.
It’s heaven for us Jan!