Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

SIDE TRIPS FROM PERTH 449
You pay about A$5 (US$3.25) more if you return on a later day. Most boat operators
offer day-trip and accommodation packages, as well as straight transfers.
Kookaburra Air (& 08/9354 1158; www.kookaburra.iinet.net.au) and Rottnest
Air Taxi (& 1800/500 006 in Western Australia, or 08/9292 5027; www.
rottnest.de) provide aerial transfers. A round-trip trip in a four-seater aircraft
(including the pilot) with Rottnest Air Taxi is A$180 (US$117) for the plane.
VISITOR INFORMATION Information is dispensed by the Rottnest Island
Visitor & Information Centre (& 08/9372 9752), which is right at the end of
the jetty on the island. The center is run by the Rottnest Island Authority
(& 08/9432 9300; www.rottnest.wa.gov.au). The Perth Visitor Centre (see “Visitor
Information” in the Perth section earlier in this chapter) also has information.
GETTING AROUND Ferries pull into the jetty in the main town, called Settlement,
at Thomson Bay. Rottnest Bike Hire (& 08/9292 5105), next to the
Rottnest Hotel near the jetty, rents 2,300 bikes in every size, speed, and type, as
well as holders for everything from surfboards to babies. An 18-speed bike is
A$20 (US$13) for a 24-hour day (plus a A$25/US$16 refundable deposit),
including a helmet (compulsory in Oz) and lock. There is no need to book a
bike. The yellow Bayseeker bus circumnavigates the island every half-hour, calling
at 16 stops including all the best bays. An all-day ticket costs A$7 (US$4.55)
for adults, A$3.50 (US$2.25) for children 4 to 12, and A$17 (US$11) for families
of 4 (extra child A$1.65/US$1.05). Buy tickets on board.
A free bus runs regularly between the airport and four of the five small communities
around the island—Thomson Bay Settlement, Geordie, Fay’s, and Longreach
Bays. It does not run to the Basin, which is a 15-minute walk from the
Settlement.
SNORKELING, DIVING, SURFING & FISHING
Most people come to Rottnest to snorkel, swim, surf, dive, or fish. As soon as you
arrive, rent a bike and your preferred aquatic gear, and pedal around the coast
until you come to a beach that suits you. (Don’t forget to carry drinking water
and food, because the only shops are at Settlement.) The Basin, Little Parakeet
Bay, Little Salmon Bay, and Parker Point are good snorkel spots. The visitor center
sells maps to suggested snorkel trails. Surfers should try Cathedral Rocks or
Strickland Bay. Fishermen will catch squid, salmon, and tailor, as well as all kinds
of reef fish. The island’s dive shop, Rottnest Malibu Diving (& 08/9292 5111),
near the jetty, rents snorkel gear, dive gear, wet suits, surfboards, body boards,
aqua-bikes, and fishing tackle. The company conducts two daily trips to some of
the 100-plus dive sites around Rottnest. Some feature limestone caverns and
some of the island’s 14 shipwrecks. A shore or boat dive with all gear included is
A$60 (US$39). If you have never dived before but want to try, a 1- to 2-hour
Tips Island Orientation Tours
Many first-time visitors take the 2-hour Island Bus Tour because it is a
good introduction to the bays and the island’s cultural and natural history—and
because it includes a stop to see the quokkas. It costs A$22
(US$14) for adults, A$11 (US$7.15) for kids 4 to 12, and A$50 (US$33) for
families of four (extra child A$5/US$3.25). Departure times vary, but you
can expect them to run twice a day, usually around 10:30am and 1:30pm.
Buy tickets from the visitor center.