When I hear the word "ferry" I think of Lord of the Rings instantly. A little, rickety, wooden platform boat with an old man with a stick steering it. Well, I was definitely clearly mistaken. This "ferry" was a huge boat, complete with three stories, bathrooms, a bar, and an upper outdoor seating area. Welcome to the 21st Century?
We managed to acquire some seats in the upper, outdoor deck where we got to see some of the most superb views of the city.
Once on the island, we got our bikes and helmets and were off on our "Rottnest Adventure."
Rottnest Island has a rich history including many Aboriginal, maritime, and environmental components. There are breathtaking views in every direction that you look and it's a nature lover's dream island. It is home to heaps of quokkas (a small marsupial) and, our mission, reefs.
It would take a whole day to ride around the 25 km island, so we had to strategically plan what we wanted to see and give ourselves enough time to reach the ferry again before 4:00, otherwise we were stuck on the island. So we decided to bike to the lighthouse first.
We ran into these cuties on the path and stopped to say hello. They were very friendly and came right up to us, granted we were beckoning them towards us. One bit my thumb, but it was completely my own fault. I don't blame that little quokka one bit.
We also saw these pretty fascinating salt marshes on the way as well. I thought they looked beautifully deserted. It was rather captivating.
At last, we could see the lighthouse from afar, unaware of the colossal hill we were about to ride up. My thighs were on fire to say the least...
Aunt Nettie you would have loved it! I thought about you the whole time I was at the lighthouse <3
...But the view was totally worth it.
The ride down was much more enjoyable than the ride up and the anticipation of our next stop was in the back of our minds as well. The water was the most wonderful shade of blue and we were about to snorkel it.
Although we didn't get to swim with sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, etc, I still was amazed at the diversity on the reef and wouldn't have traded this experience for anything.
Nerd Moment: The dot on the tail of this fish is called a "cover eye" and is a diversion mechanism to confuse the predator into thinking that the head is on the tail. It's easier to recover from a tail injury than a head injury!
This little black guy up here ^ did not like me getting too close to his "home." He would dart out of his hole at me then back in if I got too close.
The rainbow coloured fish were my favourite and at one point they were swimming right below me, almost touching my stomach. Katie thinks it was because they liked the colour of my wetsuit.
Nerd Moment: BRAIN CORAL ^^^
Ariel? Are you there?
Nerd Moment: This one was Katie's nerd moment. This little guy up here ^^ is called a Nudibranch. It's a species of mollusk that shed their shell and they're beautifully coloured. Blue and yellow with intense looking antennae. This was one of the main things Katie wanted to see and she got to!
Eventually, we had to use all our will-power to get out of the water and bike back to the ferry to go home. The worst part of the whole trip was the ride back. Riding a bike with a wet butt is the most uncomfortable experience you'll ever experience.
On the ferry ride back, all I wanted was to see a wild dolphin. I've seen them in zoos, aquariums, and at Sea World, but I had never seen one in the wild. That has been one of my dreams for a while, to see a wild dolphin and a wild whale. The whole ride back, we kept our eyes peeled. I was losing hope when we turned into the river, and then, there it was. It was beautiful and graceful and everything I'd ever pictured in my life. I ended up excitedly punching Katie in the arm (sorry, Katie!) and jumping up and down. Tears did prick the corners of my eyes...but I did not cry, I swear. I don't know if any of you will quite understand the feeling I felt, but, at the mercy of sounding too cheesy, it felt like I had found a part of me that I had been looking for. Wow, that sounds more ridiculous when I type it out than it did in my head.
Naturally, it didn't happen unless you Snapchat it. Also, there's the water 0.001 seconds after the dolphin jumped out of it.
Once we got back to the hostel and showered, we decided to "go out." I mean we should get credit for at least attempting to go out... We found a chill little restaurant in the bottom of a hotel with the greatest staff. The waiters were so friendly and funny. They made us laugh the whole time. I got a "fancy" sour cherry sidecar (the first alcoholic beverage I've ever ordered at a restaurant). It wasn't as delicious as it sounded, but it also wasn't too bad.
I promise, we were planning on going out after we ate...and we would have...if we could keep our eyes open. We ended up back at McDonald's on their free wifi...and I may have almost dozed off a couple times. We decided that what matters is that we tried to go out, which is better than nothing! And we ended up in bed by 11:30.
