Deep in the classifieds of The West Australian this morning is an invitation to apply for summer time on Rotto.
“Applications open at 9.00am today for the Summer 2007/2008 Ballot (27th December 2007 to 6th February 2008).”
How excitement. Start lodging today. Applications close Tuesday 17 July.
We like this yarn in The Age (fine paper) a fortnight or so ago about Rottnest: it verged on the purple made put some pertinent points:
“Rottnest Island floats above the glittering water on Perth's western horizon like an antipodean Avalon. Being within sight of the city's favourite getaway is a sore trial for jaded office workers during the week, forced to endure the views from the booming city's office towers.
"On any warm weekend swarms of people descend on the island and 'Rotto', as it's known to locals, is so popular during summer holidays that accommodation is allocated by ballot. During the week, though, outside of school holidays, it can very much feel like you have the place all to yourself."
The RIA says it expects to receive more than 5000 applications.
Will you be in Geordie from Wed 2 January to Wed 9 January? Or Thomson Bay South (aka Nappy Alley) from Friday 25 January to Friday 1 January?
Not everyone sees the popularity as a good thing. This blog called The Boomtown Rap (think Sir Bob Geldof?) pines for the olden days...
“Queuing outside popular restaurants, once unheard of, is now commonplace. Ditto Rottnest Island. The days of the spontaneous holiday on Rotto are finished. Holidays during school breaks must now be booked a year in advance, and even then, you have to queue to score a place in the ballot system that operates to ensure holidays at the island are not gobbled up by the same people time after time – some actually camp out overnight to guarantee themselves a spot in the ballot!”
Hi David. "Sir Bob" from The Boomtown Rap here (actually, no allusion to Sir Bob's band was intended with my blog title...I don't like Mondays, and I don't like the Boomtown Rats!).
ReplyDeleteJust want to make the point that I don't pine for "the olden days" out of some BOF nostalgia...I just happen to think the gentrification of Rotto has sucked away at its character and made a few days over there in popular holiday periods (which many folk are confined to) pretty bloody expensive. That's if they can get there at all, with all this ballot crap. Not that I have any suggestions for a fairer system. It does pain me, though, that the population explosion over this side has left us with most of the disadvantages of a bg city and none of the plusses.
The changes at Rotto are merely symptomatic of Perth's growth spurt, which has been dramatic and way too fast, placing an enormous strain on exisiting infrastructure. But you've read my toxic rap on Perth on my blog, so I won't go on further here.
Anyway, like your blog. Wanna exchange links?
Cheers
Ross...I mean, Sir Bob.
(aka Rolan Stein - confused enough?)