Rotto

I just got back from Rottness Island--an island about 20km off the coast of Fremantle. Gorgeous place, but yet that is what I have been saying about all of Western Australia. It was more beaches with more ocean views. I'm almost getting tired of ALL these gorgeous beaches:) All in all we had a blast this weekend. There were 6 of us that stayed on the island in a little cabin. It reminded me of a resort up north in MN or something. Coral reefs make for fantastic diving and snorkeling, hidden bays and deserted cycle paths wait to be explored. The small marsupial quokka--a bit like a small kangaroo--only exists on this island, and have become very tame. The thirteen shipwrecks and exciting diversity of life in the marine reserve surrounding Rottnest attract scientists and recreational divers and snorkellers from al over the globe. We got to see jelly fish, a pack of about 15 different dolphins, cool looking fish, a lobster, crabs, and some sort of shark. There were also the first sightings of a hump back whale while we were there--this is whale watching season.

These two are a birds eye view and a map of the island. To get around you either can walk the trails, bike them or take the bus. We chose to take the bus because we wanted to make sure we saw everything. We wanted to bike the second day, but it got too windy. The island is very hilly and the wind does not help the bike trip. While Saturday was one of the most beautiful days we have had in a while (It was mid 80s, not a cloud in the sky and not too windy), sunday was extremely cold and windy. There is a huge storm coming and will stay here for the next 2 days. We are already feeling the wrath of it--heavy rain and flood warnings.

View from our cabin

a bird that came to hang out

Soo happy they are here :)

That same bird hangin out

OH LOOK, we have a visitor in our cabin! Quokkas are native to the island and they are found everywhere on it. Very friendly and cute, but annoying at times--like when they come in your cabin for a visit uninvited.

One beach on the island

another one.

Having some fun

One of these was our cabin right on the ocean.

the light house

just hanging out

and yet, another beach

look who came to join us for lunch! Such cool animals on this island. We had also had an encounter with a poisonous snake! eeeek. It was a snake that was part of the rattle snake family. luckily we were inside the bus and not on bikes at the time.

The ferry we took over and back.

Overall, a wonderful weekend! Just what I needed to take my mind off of finals and this 15 page paper I have due this week. UGHH. Can't wait until finals and HW are done. I am excited to go back to the states but also decided I am going to miss my two favorite things: Iced coffee and Starburst babies. Why can't the states get these!?! The iced coffee is like coffee flavored milk that has caffeine in it--delicious! and the Starburst babies are kinda self explanatory--starburst gummies in the shape of babies. Weird, I know, but SO DELICIOUS. 

Well I am done because my mouth is watering just typing about these two things. YUMM. One of my Laura friends goes home on Wednesday(sad), On Thursday my paper is due, Friday I am going on a party bus with my CSB/SJU friends for an end of the semester thing, and then Saturday I am off to Thailand! EXCITING. It is winding down here pretty fast, and before I know it--I'll be back in the US of A.

Cheers<3.