We'd gone north, and then south, a little bit east, but we had to go west of Perth, which meant heading offshore to another island--Rottnest, or the "Isle of the Rats." Those European explorers had little imagination--who could have mistaken a quokka for a rat? These gentle creatures were quite abundant, and were not entirely shy.
Colors don't get much more vivid this! A tiny Red-capped robin shows his brilliant scarlet cap and breast to his admirers.
Perth skyline from the Barracks Street jetty
Cruising in the ferry out on the Swan River
Much was made on board about this house now being the "most expensive house in AU' (at $58 M or so). Or maybe the tour speaker meant the next house over....
But what was astounding was the number -(in the thousands) of houses with river views. I was told by a local that they *start* at $5M. The concentration of wealth in this area (again locals said it was oil/gas/mining money) was astonishing
Dolphins surfing the boat wake as we headed down river
Rottnest is small - only 11 km from end to end and they have banned cars. So there are a few buses but most people hire bikes to get around - great fun!
Superb pocket beaches all around the island - probably crowded at some times but fairly deserted during the off season.
Time to hit the ocean!
A sacred kingfisher eating a great big bug! It is said that Pacific islanders revered kingfishers as gods who controlled the waves and the seas. This belief is honored in both their common name (sacred) and their species name (sanctus).
An elegant Red-necked Avocet.
A female red-capped Robin sitting pretty.
A ruddy turnstone in breeding plumage (foreground) and a red-necked stint (background) in non-breeding (non red-necked) plumage. Although tiny (weighing less than 30 grams), these birds make an annual migratory flight to breeding grounds in Siberia and Alaska, and return then return for the southern hemisphere summer.
A distinctive White-fronted chat we found pecking about the grounds in front of our lodging. We also saw small flocks of these birds flitting about the heath on the far side of the island.
Flocks of Ruddy Turnstones out at the west end of the island.
A Banded Lapwing appearing calm and collected. These birds have an "excitable" personality and will vigorously protect their young.
Interesting hexagonal plates of an Ostraciidae ( a boxfish, cowfish) with hexagonal plates sutured into a carapace (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/y4162e/y4162e69.pdf)
The best shot I could get of a skittish Peregrine Falcon
We didn't want to be mean, but the quokkas were a bit excessively curious about our dinner at the picnic table (obviously others aren't as careful as we are about not feeding the animals). One went so far as to knock over my mug of wine. He probably ended up having an "interesting" night after he licked the spilled wine off his fur!
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This would *not* be a good time for a rouge wave!
Funny yes, but the camera would get wet!
Now we have friends who ride volcanoes, who ride in AK in winter or spend 10s of hours in the saddle, or ride around continents.....you know who you are
But they probably don't have bike baskets.....
Not quite so sure about this brand name....
Bus art
Great sunsets at the interior lakes
Sunset over The Barracks - this is a hostel type accommodation in the original army barracks during WWII! The island has significant military history and many WWII era buildings, gun emplacements, bunkers etc. Rather odd rooms but they do have character!
An (unsuccessful) early morning search for rock parrots. But the sunrise was excellent!
Sunrise over Perth (click on the photo to enlarge it)
WA does "do sunsets"!
At a famous fish and chips shop in Freemantle -
Goodbye to Perth - time to head for the airport and our red eye flight back to Queens Land.
1 comment:
Cute Quokkas and gorgeous birds. Looks like a fun time!
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