IF YOU FIND yourself in Perth and need a break from city sightseeing, take a trip off the coast to charming Rottnest Island.
Better still, hire a catamaran for the 18km sail from Fremantle Harbour and photograph pods of dolphins and colonies of sea lions as you go.
In the 19th century Rottnest was a prison for Aborigines; now it is a weekend retreat for Perth’s stressed office workers.
Known in Aborginal as Wadjemup, the island was named Rottnest – or Rat’s Nest – by Dutch settlers after the quokka, a small native marsupial that they regarded as being like a large rat. The animals are almost tame enough to be patted on the head by the estimated 500,000 tourists who visit each year, as
they have no natural predators.
No cars are allowed on the island, so Rottnest is a cyclist’s paradise. As well as surfing and boogie boarding, sheltered coves between the 63 unspoilt beaches also offer snorkelling or kayaking in turquoise waters.
One of the island’s oldest residents is a sprightly 82-year-old priest from
Co Clare, Msgr Sean O’Shea, who still says Mass at the Church of the Holy Trinity. He also likes a joke. “I’m an OBE,” he says. “I’m over bloody eighty!”
If you fancy a spot of Aussie wildlife, drop anchor at the rocky Carnac Island nature reserve, in Fremantle Bay, which is home to the highly venomous blind tiger snake and dense flocks of seagulls. The seabed around Carnac is littered with crumbling shipwrecks, and diving is popular in the area.
Escapade Ecotours runs catamaran tours to Rottnest and Carnac from Fremantle – and invites its passengers to become deckhands and help raise the sails or take the helm.
* rottnestisland.com
* Do you know of a hidden gem? E-mail us a go@irishtimes.com