Saturday, April 3, 2010

Today we caught the express boat out to Rottnest Island, only a 30 minute ride out of Fremantle Harbor.  The island was named by a Dutch explorer for these little critters, called Quokkas.  He thought they were giant rats, and named the island Ratsnest, which translated to Rottnest.  We saw lots of them and they are very docile and cute.  

We took our bikes with us and rode around most of the island, and it's a great place to ride since there are no vehicles allowed.  You only have to watch out for an occasional tour bus, and Quokkas crossing the road.

We took a tour of the military site that was built on "Rotto" during the depression, to be the first line of defensive against the Japanese in World War II.  The gun was actually never fired "in anger" but was fired for testing purposes.  However, since the shells cost $12,500 each, way back in the 1930's, it wasn't fired a whole lot.  The guide took us through lots of tunnels that were dug underneath the hill, and the various rooms held all the ammunition and housing for the military personnel stationed there.