We had these views from the balcony of our cottage at Rottnest. We decided before going that this was probaby going to be our last annual trip. But, the wonderful location, the convenience of a comparatively modern two bedroom layout, and perhaps the Island itself has changed our minds. We haven’t actually had a choice of place to stay when booking, and we’ve made the best of whatever we were given as we were always on the water front. But this time was different.

We travelled from the Hillarys Ferry Terminal. This was where Eversley has always caught the ferry from her long years as a Rottnest Guide and is convenient given where she lives. But, we were going to Fremantle, lugging our bags on buses and trains, which was definitely a slog. At Hillarys we have free long stay parking and the place for dropping off and picking up our bags is just on the edge of the carpark. It was a sunny day with not much of a swell, so a calm ride.

Another tradition we have is to go to the Dome to wait for the keys to our cottage to be available. As we arrived at about 10.15 a.m. and the keys aren’t available until 2.00 p.m. (though they have given them to us earlier in the past) we have quite a long wait. A brunch, catching up on each other’s news, then some reading help to pass the time. Both Eversley and I had shopping trolleys, me because I didn’t want to wear a heavy backpack and E because she takes food, which meant we weren’t feeling all that mobile. Stephen was also carrying a heavier than ususal backpack.

Monday and Tuesday were fine and mostly sunny, so we felt fortunate to have good weather so late in Autumn. It felt very welcoming.

Almost immediately we entered our cottage we began to have second thoughts about this being our last trip. Walking in to the wonderful view, and seeing the fairly large balcony, with a sofa and dining setting, we felt absolutely wowed. There were pelicans gliding in the shallows and we anticipated beatiful sunrises and even sunsets, though we are on the wrong side of the island to see the sun go down.

Stephen and I usually shop for most things once we get to the island, rather than trying to carry food from home. We had our breakfast cereals, but bought apples, yogurt, bread, butter, milk, nibbles and a salad and small BBQ pack of meat for our evening meal.

Eversley prepared her own food and we sat down together to enjoy our meal. Although we didn’t see the sunset the evening light was beautiful.

The internet through our phones was a bit intermittent, but I had bought the Starlink and it worked sitting on the balcony, despite recording many obstructions. We didn’t leave it out overnight or when we were away from the cottage, but worked out how to use it’s own cord to secure it to the railing. It was a two person job to put it out and take it in because it was plugged into a powerpoint in our bedroom and the cord could then be passed across to the balcony. It held up even when there was a storm on Wednesday evening.

Stephen and I decided we would pay for the now very expensive hop on hop off bus around the island. Even as pensioners we paid $30 each. E. decided that this was definitely over the top and there was enough to do around the settlement. It was unexpectedly crowded as well and we had to queue and wait for a second bus. We got to the stop in the late morning when the day tourists had arrived, our mistake.

At least we had ended up nearly at the top of the queue and were able to have the seats of our choice. Not that Stephen stayed on very long, he got off to go for a walk, with a view to travelling the rest of the way later.

I stayed on the bus until Cathedral Rock where I walked out along the boardwalk. The views are very different on the further side of the Island.

On the way home through the settlement I stopped for a coffee and vegetable pastie at the bakery. On my recommendation Stephen picked up a pastie on his way back to the cottage a bit later.

In the evening we walked to our favourite pub, SunSets, which has views of the setting sun over the lakes. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for the sun, but we enjoyed the ambience and some slightly unusual food, a baked cabbage half with sauce and half a rotisseried chicken with gravy. These dishes were good for sharing between the three of us. There is a fire place and although it wasn’t cold it still makes a good atmosphere.

On Wednesday morning we had a wonderful brightly coloured sunrise, which I missed. Despite two people being up I managed to sleep in. Stephen gave me this photo.

On Wednesday we spent the whole day half expecting a storm to arrive, especially in the afternoon. It didn’t actually come through until about 9.00 p.m. It went on for so long that we decided to bring the Starlink in whilst there was a risk of getting the plug wet, but I think it was OK. The Starlink itself is weatherproof.

We had lunch at Frankies, sharing two different pizzas. After lunch we each went our own way, me to check out the very expensive shop (nothing appealed, so it was more like going to an art gallery) and the others to the museum.

In the evening we had a meal at home, toast and baked beans and some microwaved vegetables. Eversley supplied the veggies and baked beans, we provided the bread and butter. We had also been sharing our supplies of nibbles and chocolates over the three evenings.

On my way back from the settlement after lunch I got some closeups of pelicans and quokkas.

On Thursday morning we packed up our cases for the pickup at 8.00 a.m., then had a fairly relaxed breakfast before our checkout time of 9.00 a.m. At the settlement we went to SunSets for coffee. We looked after Stephen’s gear whilst he went for a walk to the lookout. We had a fairly rough journey back to Hillarys, as mentioned above. As we all love tradition, we picked up our bags and took them back to our cars, then had lunch at the Dome. This is only the second year for this tradition, but it’s enough to feel an important part of the Island adventure.