Just thirty minutes west by express ferry from Fremantle lies the island of Rottnest. Cars are not allowed and most visitors ride bicycles. Founded as a grim prison for aboriginal inmates in 1838, it was later reinvented as a holiday island after the prison closed in 1903. I remembered my mum talking about her visit there, and I was looking forward to cycling around Rottnest Island.
You can hire a bike there or take your own. I opted to take my own and paid $15 for the freight on top of my ferry ticket.
I got a bit seasick on the journey over, but luckily I had taken seasickness tablets in preparation.
Thomson Bay Settlement
We arrived at the island at 8:00 am and I couldn’t wait to start cycling. I did a quick pedal through the settlement, but, thinking that most of the island would not have much shade, I wanted to get a few kilometres under my belt before stopping. Nevertheless, the bakery at the Thomson Bay Settlement looked inviting.
As I started towards Geordie Bay, I passed through this beautiful avenue of trees. This made me hopeful that there could be more shade than I had anticipated.
Before long, I was cycling past Longreach Bay.
I was really impressed by the quality of the cycling path. The beauty of the ocean took my breath away.
With a couple of kilometres under my belt, I decided to allow myself the luxury of a coffee stop at Geordie’s Cafe.
The cafe was completely fenced and a sign forbade feeding the quokkas. However this little fellow had found his way through the barriers and was enjoying a potato chip that somebody had dropped.
The quokka is a type of small wallaby and is the only mammal indigenous to the island. Rottnest Island has the largest known population of these animals (around 12,000) and is crucial to the survival of the species.
Geordie Bay to Cape Vlamingh
Refreshed, I was ready to continue my journey. I joined the main road around the island, which is shared with tour buses which pass every thirty minutes or so. The island is well sign-posted and maps are readily available.
Pedalling on, I fell in love with Little Parakeet Bay. I hoped I would have time to return later in the day for a swim.
At regular intervals there were bus stops for those who preferred not to cycle.
If you hired a bike, you could leave it at any of these stops and catch a bus back to the Settlement.
After fourteen kilometres I arrived at Cape Vlamingh, the south-westerly tip of the island.
Back to Thomson Bay Settlement
I began my return journey. The day was warming up now and I was beginning to feel the heat. There wasn’t much shelter.
I stopped briefly at Green Island and thought about jumping in the water in my cycling clothes. However the large swathes of seaweed put me off and I continued on my ride around Rottnest.
During the day I had been missing my cycling friends, and wishing I could be sharing the ride with them. I came upon this group of riders. They seemed to be having a disagreement about which way to go.
At least I didn’t have that problem travelling solo. Perhaps distracted by these thoughts, I missed a turn and accidentally came back through the middle of the island rather than along the south as I had intended!
Before returning to the settlement I made a short detour to Army Jetty, which had been the major point of entry to the island for over a hundred years.
Summary of my ride around Rottnest Island
I had cycled 28 kilometres and climbed 192 metres. Cycling around Rottnest Island had been a little hillier than I had expected.
I had a quick lunch and found out where I had to go to join my Guns and Tunnels tour, inspecting some of the fortifications of the island made in preparation for World War II.
After the tour, I had a short amount of time left before taking the return ferry back to Fremantle. I visited some of the historical buildings in the settlement. Sadly, because the island had been converted to a holiday destination over 100 years ago, most of the remaining original buildings have been much altered.
Nevertheless, cycling around Rottnest Island has definitely been a highlight of our West Australian trip so far. Other great rides in the Perth area are the Perth Swan River Loop and the Perth Coastal Ride.
Note: If you take your own bike on the ferry, be aware that it will be thoroughly sprayed with sea water on the way there and back. Be sure to wash it down afterwards. A bike shop in Fremantle told me they got a lot of repair business from damage caused by sea water on the Rottnest ferry 🙂
