Rotto, as it is called locally, is a 19 sq km island, 18km from Fremantle reached by a 30 minute ferry ride from Fremantle, or a bit longer from Perth. It was named by a Dutch sailor in 1696, meaning “Rat’s Nest” island, mistaking the local marsupials, quokkas, for rats.
It is now a protected reserve and popular car-free tourist destination. Appromimately 80% of the tourists are day trippers, the remaining being predominently campers, or in our case “glampers”. Most of the overnight visitors are from the Perth area and bring all their gear on the ferry with them – from gazebos to bikes and cool boxes – “checked-in” to cages on the deck of the ferry and transported to/from your accommodation by the ferry operator.
Quokkas can be seen all over the island, especially in the evenings and have no real preditors on Rotto. They are small marsupials, only found in south western WA, mainly on islands with the largest number being on Rotto. They are about the size of a cat but with a commical hop. The females typically have two babies a year, becoming pregnant whilst the first baby is still in her pouch.
To protect its unique atmosphere as a relaxed family destination within a reserve, Rotto has quite a few rules for visitors. These include limited development – just a few restaurants/bars, one general store, some cabins and a few campsites – a few paths for bikes and pedestrians and “island quiet hours” between 10pm and 7pm. Restaurants have to be empty before 10pm so take dinner bookings for arrival 5.30-7.30pm. We gleaned the local dress code from a Perth uber driver who told Tim to “just pack your thongs (flip-flops to Brits) and a singlet mate”. The beaches were amazing, with one just a few steps from our “tent”, although the sea was colder than we were expecting; refreshing as we were there during a heatwave. We saw dolphins twice, only about 10m from the shore.
Shilli-Fully Travels 