Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), WA

This was our third visit to Wadjemup, but the first two times we had been with CC’s mum and so had been unable to do a lot of long distance walking. This time, our plan was to walk as much of the island as we could fit into a day trip.

The ferry departed from Fremantle – where we were staying at the time – and so it was a nice easy walk to the ferry terminal. On arrival in Wadjemup, we had a quick coffee and then set off on our walk.

The island is famous for its beautiful, white sandy beaches with turquoise waters – and we saw a lot of these on the first part of our walk from Thomson Bay to Rocky Bay along the north coast of the island – following the Gabbi Karniny trail and then the Karlinyah trail – a distance of around 10km.

After this, we crossed over to the south coast of the island and followed the Wardan Nara trail to Wadjemup Lighthouse, and then from there, back on the Gabbi Karniny trail via the interior lakes to Thomson Bay – a distance of around 11km.

So in total we did a 21km loop walk around the island and got back with a little bit of time to spare before the last ferry.

The island is also famous for its quokkas (small marsupials) – and we saw plenty of them around – especially near the Thomson Bay area.