Rottnest Island

At one of our pre-study abroad meetings last year, some students who did the Perth program the year before told us about how they all took a trip to Rottnest Island for a few days at the end of the semester. It sounded like a pretty good trip, so naturally we all decided to do the same thing this year. Everyone formed into cabin groups (6 people) and planned their own trips. Because of everyone's varying schedules, we didn't plan the whole trip together. Different groups arrived and left on different days, but for at least one or two days we were all there together. My group was there for four days (Monday through Thursday).

Rottnest Island got its name from Dutch explorers who first discovered it. Little creatures known as Quokkas inhabit the island and were mistaken by the Dutch to be large rats, who named the island Rottnest (Dutch for Rat's nest). While the island does have a terrible name, it is actually a very pleasant place and a popular vacation spot. There are no cars allowed on the island (except for service vehicles), so everyone uses bikes to get around. The island is good for snorkeling, surfing, whale watching, and fishing. The beaches are really nice too, if the conditions are right. Unfortunately for us, the conditions were not very good during our time there. It was cold and rainy on a few of the days. Worse than the bad weather though, was the flies. At the begining of summer in Western Australia and after a good rain, swarms of flies come and bug the crap out of everybody. Nobody told me about this before I got here, but they are awful. They came out the day we left for Rottnest and were there the entire trip. They swarm you and try to get in your eyes and mouth and ears. Obviously they can't do you any real harm, other than drive you mad. Even with the rain and the flies though, the trip was pretty fun. See it for yourself.