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Freo to Rotto

by Veronica Matheson | 13 Mar 2014

It’s only a short half-hour ferry ride out to Rottnest Island from Fremantle, WA, but once you’re there, on a bike exploring the island, you’ll feel a world away.

A day in Freo

Forget formality in the funky port city of Fremantle in sunny Western Australia, where laidback locals call their town ‘Freo’ and insist we do, too. After

an early start from the state’s capital Perth, a 40-minute drive by car or a short train ride along the stunning coast takes us to Freo, where we find a city akin to a friendly country town.

First stop is the buzzing cappuccino strip on South Terrace for a caffeine fix; any of the crowded cafes here are good for people-watching amid heavenly heritage architecture. Nearby at Fremantle Markets, buskers entertain the shoppers who trawl through stalls of fresh produce, art and craft, retro clothing and more.

With time slipping away, we head to Didjeridoo Breath on Market Street, where experts demonstrate the instrument and then let visitors have a go. Making it sound right is all about breathing, and we seem to run out far too quickly!

At Kings Square we stop by a ‘pop-up’ shop in an abandoned department store, where emerging artists, craftspeople and fashion designers now sell unique, one-off pieces created with passion.

Freo is perched on the mouth of the Swan River where we lunch on freshly caught fish. Little Creatures Brewery is nearby in an eclectic, industrial-styled building with mixed roles as an art gallery, boutique brewery and pizza restaurant. If your timing is right, you can take in a fascinating brewery tour, followed by a stunning sunset from the deck over the river while you taste the brews.

Explore Rotto

Rottnest Island is a laidback beauty known as ‘Rotto’ which is hardly a tribute to its rugged cliffs, dazzling white sand, secluded bays and rolling surf.

A highlight is spotting quokkas, seen by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh when he made landfall in 1696. At the time, he thought the quokka resembled a big brown rat so he called the island 'Rotte nest' (meaning ‘rat's nest’). There are about 10,000 quokkas here and the tourist influx in recent years has made some remarkably tame, but visitors are warned not to feed them.

Rottnest is an A-grade nature reserve, so private vehicles are not allowed; the most popular transport is a hired bike. A round-island trip covers 24km and takes a cyclist about three hours at a leisurely pace. A hop-on, hop-off bus also circles the island throughout the day.

There is also a tour bus that gives a commentary on the island’s Aboriginal, colonial, penal and military past, and points out a wealth of historical sites.

We hire a bike, pack a picnic with fresh produce from the general store and explore this compact paradise, just 11km long and 4.5km across its widest point.

From the busy main settlement at Thomson Bay, we pedal to distant bays for refreshing dips, and often find we are the only ones around. On one of the more crowded beaches we snorkel amid a coral garden alive with a rainbow of tropical fish. And when we reach Cathedral Rocks at the far end of the island there is a wonderful surprise: a colony of fur seals basking in the sun.