Doggnest

You don't see many dogs on the beautiful island - but dogs look at Rottnest all the time.

A new book has a couple of views of Rotto: I, Cott Dog has about 315 photos of dogs photographed in glorious Cottesloe.

David Hocking took the photos between 2005 and this year and says they all say one thing.

“They tell no tale other than the love that exists between friends and fellow clan members in a place whose heart is indelibly linked to the sky and sea that surrounds it,” he said.

The most-photographed breeds are “little fluffy white things” and golden retrievers.

Many of the photos were taken by Beaches Cafe on Marine Parade, from which you can see the majesty that is the Rottnest outline.

Only 10 people refused to have their photos taken with their dogs.

David is a keen supporter of the Dogs' Refuge Home in Shenton Park: part-proceeds from the $45 book will go to the not-for-profit organisation.

“Activities are motivated by the fundamental understanding that dogs are entitled to the same love and respect that they unconditionally give to us,” David said.

“The Home has a no-kill policy, which ensures that no dog will be euthanised on economic grounds.

“Every year they take in many hundreds of dogs that have been abused, neglected or simply no longer wanted.”

David currently has no dog and lives in Fremantle.

The book's cover features Tara, a Rottweiler just out of the North Cottesloe surf.

“She's a gem because she thinks the sun comes out of the sand, which is not exactly untrue, scientifically speaking,” David said.

The book is for sale at Beaches, Collins bookstore in Cottesloe, The Lane Bookshop In Claremont and the newsagency in Swanbourne.

It can also be bought online at vividpublishing.com.au

It's a snip at $45 and David only printed a thousand - get in quick.

rich in environment

Our post on the feeble Forum language was popular - and we've found some more connected with the beautiful island.

We didn't mean to, but we're reading Don Watson's Bendable Learnings (subtitle: The Wisdom of Modern Management).

The introduction is a superb rant against learning centres and having to be accountable and fetishising diversity and going forward - then Don gets stuck into mission statements.

"A company without a mission statement is like an evangelist without the cross or a shaman without her spirit animal. The same goes for any other business, including government departments..."

And lo, here is the Rottnest Island Authority's mission statement: "Rottnest Island is conserved and enhanced as a unique island destination rich in environment, culture, and heritage, offering a relaxed holiday experience for Western Australian families and other local, interstate and overseas visitors."

Then Don hops into vision statements. Thankfully we can't see one for the RIA.

modern medusa

Our grumpy post about the raft-up last week has been vindicated - but we got it wrong.

You'll recall we likened a raft-up to conditions on one of the notorious sheep ships: bodies packed together, hot hot hot, distressing noise...

There's an excellent report in today's West on a Boxing Day raft-up at the beautiful island's Parakeet Bay: "WA Police have expressed grave concerns about the safety of "raft-ups" - when boats are lashed together for a party - after an event involving hundreds of revellers on Rottnest Island descended into drunken chaos and caused several injuries."

Hundreds of pissed punters on about 30 boats - it's a powder keg, as our favourite Rotto policeman was paraphrased as saying (yes, you can have a powder keg on water).

Where have we heard this terrible tale before? A tragedy of a mass of seething humanity on a hurriedly-constructed raft...shocking things happen before the rescue...those who survive endure starvation, dehydration, cannibalism, and madness...it becomes an international scandal...

The waves of the bay gently rock the makeshift raft...some of the men stare into their Lemon Russkies in utter despair...one young woman holds back the hair of another who was her bridesmaid only last week...bodies litter the poop deck...the horror...it is Gericault in the West Aussie sun.

uniqueness

Some funny writing has happened on the way to the Forum.

Not so much funny as dreary. The Australian Institute of Company Directors are spruiking their "iconic" Rottnest Forum - the big event happens in March.

The blurb is exactly how we imagine a tired company director writes as s/he attends to the last task of a busy day.

How many cliches, punctuation and spelling errors can you see?

Your readership is important to us, so going forward we should include the fact the Forum is a bargain at $340 for non-Institute members.

"The iconic Rottnest Forum has been etched in the calendars of the Perth business community since it was founded some 30 plus years ago.

"With members and guests travelling to the island on a flotilla of boats, this event blends the naturally relaxed pace of the island with a keynote address and member fellowship during morning tea and lunch overlooking the pristine Thompson’s Bay.

"The 2010 Rottnest Forum will feature Mr Cameron Clyne, Group Chief Executive Officer of National Australia Bank as the key-note speaker who will share his business life in this unique setting.

"Numbers are limited for this event so please register early to avoid disappointment."

world bikini capital?

In September last year we expressed mild frustration at not knowing more about Brad Ness' Rottnest accident.

The frustration has been washed away - mostly - thanks to this report in The National Newspaper.

We don't see TNN often - it's in Abu Dhabi - but reporter Robert Philip has lots of details.

Last year Brad was quoted as the accident being like a chef chopping through a carrot - but in this "when the ferry moved out the rope snapped tight and sliced off my right foot as cleanly as a cheese wire cutting through a chunk of Cheddar."

Read and enjoy, but wonder: did the trip back to the mainland take 90 minutes? Is the beautiful island really "the bikini capital of the world"?

how satisfied?

We followed up this week on a survey we did in June on the ferry coming back from the beautiful island.

It had 24 questions: the ones we were interested in were 19-21: what is the single most enjoyable thing about Rottnest Island, what is the one thing on RI most in need of improvement, what one thing could be added to improve the visitor experience?

The RIA's 08/09 annual report says 1411 people did the survey: 85 per cent were "satisfied" with the "general facilities and services" and 86 per cent were "satisfied" with recreational and holiday services and facilities.

Only 75 per cent were "satisfied" with the accommodation - the RIA's target was 85 per cent.

Mind you a whopping 96 per cent said their visit "met or exceeded expectations".

RIA says: "The significant improvement in overall satisfaction with recreational services and facilities reflects the RIA's focus on providing improved accommodation, greater variety of recreational activities and a more desirable mix of retail service providers."

hurting but

Stef was stiff after her sojourn on the beautiful island this week.

A sibling seemed sickly, and the bike ride was fun - but a challenge:

"...it was extremely tiring, there was like so many uphills and I srsly have no energy left so I push the bike up :D, well my parents did it as well >>"
it was about 12/13 km man ._. I cycled so much, my but hurts like crap cuz the bicycle seat was so amn hard, and on the way we saw a quokka , its actually really cute :D".

The flies were monstrous, but the Dome lunch was satisfying and there was fun on the beach.

Paul's experience of Rottnest was a little disquieting.

There are "views to the Rottnest Island" from where he was, and his view is "only a stoner throw away" from a park - but I'd rather not have read about "Matti's Virgin Camping Experience".

Merry Xmas - see you after the faux-turkey.

view from the hill

The beautiful island has never looked so close and yet seemed so far away.

Today's pic is taken from the top of Buckland Hill in Mosman Park: why look at the rooftops of this southern western suburb when you can gaze at Rottnest?

Our viewing interregnum was a welcome tonic in between rushing around from story to story like a blue-arsed fly - we tell you, we've been busier than Kevin Rudd's travel agent.

Get this quote...follow that thing up...what is this POI doing...we love it of course, but we love it even more when we know there's a countdown to when we next step off the Rottnest Express boat.

Back to the salt mines.

rafty

Lordy: we saw a link to this on a Fairfax site.

It's called Raft Up: "Perth best DJ’s, only the best bikinis (or lack of) and the best crystal blue waters of Rottnest. Raft Up 2009 will once again be a day to remember."

Free apostrophe abuse included.

Some of the pics show bright young things crammed onto boats tied together. Not our cup of Dilmah. Kind of like a human version of a sheep ship.

"Tickets will be announced shortly and includes all alcohol, lunch on the boats (as requested more salads than last year) local entertainment and the best trip to and from Rotto you’ve ever had."

Bullshit! The wild ride on heaving seas in 2006 was the best trip we've ever had to the beautiful island - and everyone was wearing their clothes!

power

Some thrilling reading today: 'Standard Form Contract For the Supply of Electricity on Rottnest Island'.

It's a white-knuckle-ride, let us tell you. Mind you, staying inside and reading documents is better than oiling the deck outside in the furnace-like heat. We can't help but compare the wilting 37 degrees or so here with the delightful 24 degrees on the beautiful island.

Sample paragraph from the contract: 'All electrical installations and equipment within the supply address premises which are fixed to the premises as chattels shall become the property of the Rottnest Island Authority in the case of termination of the Customer’s supply, and in accordance with any lease or other agreement between the Rottnest Island Authority and the Customer.'

That's how you can tell it's a contract: it uses a word like chattels.

haze days indeed

The Perth sky has been hideous this week: the smoke from the fires down south meant the sun resembled - to paraphrase Michael Herr describing the moon in Vietnam - a fat sweaty chunk of malevolent cheese.

Indeed, when Rotto Bloggo stumbled outside on Tuesday we thought the aftermath of our herring binge was worse than usual. For a moment we thought we were on Tatooine, and another fearsome sun was also over the horizon.

Can the end of days be far, as Teh Lazy Aussie on TWOP often asks? Does the rapture approach?

Of course it's been fine on the beautiful island. No disturbing solar filtering at the Basin. When it's been too much for us this week we've looked at the soothing images on a blog called True North Mark. He has wonderful pics of the Basin and other Rottnest delights. We'd like to reproduce one here, but Mark hasn't responded to our earnest plea.

Instead we've posted a NASA image which shows Rotto unbesmirched by the horrid haze.

near Rotto

We've been spending WAY too much time on NearMap, but we can't help it.

We wrote a story a couple of weeks ago on this West Perth firm that claims to give Google Earth a run for its money.

They say their aerial photos are done from a lower altitude than GE - and updated much more often.

They're pretty good: fire it up and have a look at people in their Rottnest bungalow courtyards, cycling out to the West End and cavorting at the Basin.

Alas the tea trees inhibit the action on the mini-golf course at Brett Heady's Family Fun Centre.

the Freo-Rotto bridge

The iceberg is still getting help from Rottnest so we can grapple with its huge dimensions: yesterday's West said it would make a chilly 10-storey bridge to the beautiful island.

That missing paddler was found OK: Ron Clarke left Sorrento SLC early in the AM yesterday. Then his kayak was found on Rotto. Then he was located.

Those lights in Norway turned out to be a dud Russian missile: "The new Bulava missile was fired from the submarine Dmitry Danskoi, the Russian defence ministry confirmed."

We feel the world's media missed an opportunity to use more Rottnest references: some of the vision we saw clearly showed the lights having a strong resemblance to the first section of the 10th hole on the mini-golf course at the Brett Heady Family Fun Centre.

Rottberg

Superb context for local readers: "A giant iceberg more than seven times the size of Rottnest Island is drifting towards Western Australia has been hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime rarity for both its size and the length of its journey."

This is on the Brisbane Times: at first we were unsure if people in New Farm would know the dimensions of Wa's fabulous holiday playground.

But then we slapped ourselves: Rotto is world-famous! Everyone knows about Pinky's and The Basin and the West End and Little Parakeet!

To continue: "Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young says the iceberg, named B17B, is 1700 kilometres south-south-west of the West Australian coast and moving north with the ocean current and prevailing wind."

How big is the chilling (but slimming) chunk of ice?

"The iceberg is 19km by 8km, equating to an area of 140 square kilometres."

That's big. We doubt you can get a snot-block there, though, or pat a quokka.

We're sure you'll agree the behemoth isn't shaped very much like Rotto...perhaps as it melts it will look a bit like it...sort of how you can see images of Che and Mao being burned on your toast as it sits in the toaster.

sleeping out to get in

This marvellous Rottnest story was in the admirable POST on the weekend.

People sleep out for AC/DC tix, for VIP seats at the Olympics - and for bungalows on the beautiful island.

As well as the pic here there were also pics of snoring people at 5.15am the day the office opened and people having a cup of tea to while away the time.

Some western suburbs identities we know secured the prize of Colebatch for later this month.

WESTERN suburbs residents’ love for Rottnest was put to the test earlier this week when holiday bookings for December 2010 opened.

People anxious to secure a cottage on the island for Christmas next year started queuing outside the accommodation office at Rottnest from the middle of last week.

By Saturday afternoon, about 25 people had brought their sleeping bags and folding chairs to settle in for three days and nights camping out on the pavement.

When bookings opened at 8.30 on Tuesday morning, about 120 hopeful holidaymakers had turned the concrete plaza around the office into a colourful camping ground.

Some brought laptops and worked, or watched movies, others brought beach shelters and folding beds to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

Power points outside the office were kept busy charging mobile phones so campers could stay in touch with friends and family on the mainland, discussing preferred dates, locations and prices for a holiday a year away.

Members of the sporting O’Connell family kept up a family tradition of three generations, securing cottages for their Christmas celebrations.

Some of the queuers joined Rottnest Society volunteers on Monday morning to paint the sea wall.
But most of the time, the campers chatted, read, picnicked, went for an occasional swim and made friends with the people they will holiday with next year.

A local primary school teacher took two days of long service leave to join the queue.

“But don’t take my picture – the parents will wonder why I’m at Rottnest instead of teaching their children,” she said.

Doctors and lawyers took time off work to queue for their families; teenagers who had just finished exams were in demand to sleep out at night while their parents retired to their cottages and bungalows.

People can only queue on the island if they have accommodation on Rottnest, but “queuettiquette” (a term coined by a happy group in the queue) demands that somebody occupies each group’s chairs and beds at all times.

The accommodation rule means that the queue at Rottnest is usually shorter than the one outside the island’s accommodation office at Victoria Quay in Fremantle.

A Rottnest Island Authority said about 70 people were in a Quay queue by 8am on Tuesday.

“People just kept coming,” she said.

And there is a good chance that those prepared to brave the elements for a few days and nights will get the accommodation they want in 12 months time.

Getting through to the Rottnest Island Authority’s telephone booking service is much less reliable.

Accommodation at Rottnest is decided by a ballot system during school holidays - but in summer, the system does not swing into operation until New Year.

One of the first groups to arrive on the island said they were welcomed by the accommodation staff.

“They told us they were pleased to see us and happy that we were so passionate about Rottnest,” one woman said.

She and her friends have been queuing for December accommodation every year for several years, but they were coy about revealing just how many times they had queued or exactly when they had arrived last week.

Many “campers” said they were unhappy with the RIA’s decision to eliminate peahens so the peacocks on the island would gradually die out.

They were visited by a friendly peacock each day in the queue, which shied away timidly if anybody shouted or waved a hand at it.

The potential of sunburn during the day and stiff limbs after nights sleeping on the ground were all worth it, as shouts of joy meant the first 20 or so people in the queue had managed to book their preferred places for another summer of fun on their favourite island.

The authority spokeswoman said 664 bookings were taken at Rottnest and Victoria Quay on Tuesday.

get papping

About the only record of achievement Rotto Bloggo has is a 25m backstroke competency certificate from grade 3. Once we start reeling in the Walkley Awards the swimming gong will be in good company.

But even such an under-achiever as us is tempted to enter this photography competition - the prizes are dreamy.

'Enter your best images that can be truly called “Iconic Images”. This prestigious competition offers outstanding prizes for all amateur photographers,' says something called Iconic Images/(APS) competition, iconPHOTO09.

'Designed by Australian photographers for amateur photographers to promote the capture and presentation of iconic images.'

Amongst the expert tuition and other stuff for the winner, there's this:
Return flights from winner’s nearest Australian capital city to Perth (if applicable)
Full accommodation on the 50 ft. luxury sailing yacht ‘Calypso V’, off Rottnest Island
Transport to/from and around Rottnest Island.

Mouth-watering and enough to make us forget about the hideous overuse of the word iconic.

survey says?

Rotto Bloggo has had enough admonishing and queries to be prodded back into life - we wish we'd been partying at Pinky's with the schoolies, toolies and droolies, but alas. We were marooned on the mainland.

We encourage our leaver readers - and we know they are legion - to fill out this study about their booze and drug ingestion on the beautiful island.

'The National Drug Research Institute of Curtin University are running a study that will explore alcohol and other drug use at school leavers' celebrations ("Leavers"). The aim of this project is to make celebrations like Leavers safer for young people in the future.'

No rush: you can do it as last as mid-January.

'Overall, we believe that services and policies that concern young people are improved when informed by research such as this which draws on the knowledge of young people themselves,' the survey scientists say, and they promise SSL encryption.

Big it up for Cookster, who provided the photo (which is not of a drug-crazed teenager). The little chap is high on life and Rottnest.

rotting

We'd been wondering why the dogs were interested in the bag.

It had lain on the laundry floor for a couple of weeks after our latest Rottnest sojourn. It had done sterling work as the bait bag, so a little whiffiness was to be expected.

Eventually Mrs Rotto Bloggo (Thomson Bay Queen) suggested it might be time to give it the old gwersh-gwersh in the Whirlpool.

No worries - we even managed to hang it out to dry afterwards.

But the next day the bag had a funny weight.

Inside was a forgotten pizza base which had grown its own extensive selection of, er, natural toppings.

Astonishingly very little detergent had penetrated the plastic wrapper.

Rotto Bloggo is all for pushing those use-by date envelopes, but even we put this in the bin quick-smart.

Apologies for the three week absence: reporting commitments, Media Ball madness and a killer head cold.

crouton

A mixture of good and bad news from the beautiful island.

It's like a The Worst of Perth moving convention over there: the latest identity to grace Rottnest is notorious PR thug and blogger Cookster.

He texted us: 'Where to go> Snorkelling at Salmon Bay, or simply floating around in the cool, crystal clear waters of Little Parakeet? Is there any better smell than summer sun and salt on skin, mixed with Rottnest Island pines and the tang of crusted salt lake foam carried in the warm breeze..."

Wanker!

This from Kim, on the Gluten Free Aussie blog: "I just returned from a weekend in Rottnest, which would have been fantastic except for a bad experience..."

Check out the link for the rest. People are so litigious. There was a crouton issue.

all natural

Rotto Bloggo's new year resolution is to swim from thje natural jetty to Phillip Rock. How hard can it be? When you're standing there waiting for a garfish it looks half a hop away - a bit like the view from Cottesloe to the beautiful island.

We'd have to be watchful for Rottnest Express, the supply ship and a few other craft, but it would be a doddle. The island looks accessible once we're there.

These are shots from last week. The waves washing over the natural jetty, and nowhere to put bait, rods, caught fish etc, make the place a thrilling fishing experience. The creature featured is a Leopard Wirra.

memories

Can you believe the amount of Rottnest news? We can't. James Packer lunches at the hotel on Thursday, there's a boat missing north of the beautiful island, and Shazza spends a weekend in Thomson Bay.

It all happens there. We muts have just missed Packer: we caught the 1030 ferry back that day. We hope his meal was better to the last one we had there.

Memories of last week's four exquisite days on Rotto persist. One was of strange behaviour on the beach at Geordie. A bloke motored in from his costly yacht and cleaned and gutted fish on the sand. He was too close to the water. He was perturned by the gulls - at at one stage took up a karate stance, knife in hand, to confront the pesky birds. It went on for about half-an-hour. He seemed to throw a few cleaned and gutted fish into the water. Then he putted back to his yacht. Strange days indeed.

We trust it's not him who said in the mayday call: "I'm experiencing problems with electricals on board due to the actual taking on of water. Judging by the current flow rate into the actual vessel, I've probably got between 40 and 50 minutes before I'm going to have to abandon the vessel."

day 3 Geordie

Surrounded by sea: that is the exciting experience that is extreme fishing on Rottnest.

The fishing scenes on the beautiful island are varied. You can wet a line from a jetty, or rocks, a beach - or at Henrietta you can wade out on the reef and have the beach behind you.

But for water all around there is the natural jetty. You're so far out at low tide it seems like just a hop and a skip to Phillip Rock (but watch out for the ferries!).

The tide surges around you, the water is that deep Rotto blue, there's nowhere to put your bait and you have to be mindful of balance and footing - it is a satisfyingly extreme fishing experience.

We weren't disappointed today: herring, skipjack and a cod or two were landed.

At 1700 we also dropped in to our regular perch at the end of Geordie Bay: more herring and skippy were plucked from the water.

And we saw a snake on the just before the Geordie hill, the alarm went off at the (closed) Aristos, we had a (luke warm) coffee at Dome, the leftover roast from last night was still marvellous.

For lunch today we fired up the smoker. We spread a small amount of mallee sawdust/chips on the inside tray, laid our fillets on the rack above, lit the meths cup below - and left it alone.

After 60 seconds it was smoking like a thousand joss sticks. Eight minutes with the flame - then whip out the flame and let the fillets sit for five minutes, absorbing more smoky goodness.

It was the best smoked stuff we'd ever had: delicate, flavoursome, a hint of honey and spice. And not too fishy. You can even do vegetables in it.

We'll have smoked herring for breakfast, but tonight it's gently fried skipjack and garfish with baked potato and an apple crumble for dessert. And a few German beers.

smokin' & stirin'

The smoker was deployed at lunch: what a remarkable device it is.

A full report later of the smoker and our extreme fishing exploits at the natural jetty, but we couldn't let this worst spelling wait until then. Seen at the Geordie Bay cafe.

How sweet it is on Rottnest.

day 2 geordie

The first full day, and it's been sensational. Much fruits de la mer have been plucked from various locations around the beautiful island - some were thrown back.

We started out at Henrietta Rocks. It was satisfying to indulge in some extreme fishing (wading out in the surf on the reef) but the haul was not huge: we were casting into the teeth of a south-westerly. We're all highly sceptical of any Bureau of Meteorology forecast.

So we had a look out near the West End and settled on Mable Cove, on the other side of Rottnest. Conditions were a little better, but they were hardly jumping into the bucket.

By then it was 1430: we headed back to Thomson to eat (spinach and feta rolls for Rotto Bloggo). Bought the papers, back to the pad - until about 1700, when we were galvanised into action when we realised we'd have nothing to eat (the other three have a lamb roast on the go for tonight).

So we walked 500m to the rocks at the southern-most point of Geordie Bay, where we wet a line last night - and the difference was remarkable. The herring (and more than one skipjack) were in a frenzy and leapt onto the line. So Rotto Bloggo has ample fillets while the others chow down on their red meat.

While the lamb was in the oven Bealo knocked a few more pages of Middlemarch.

day 1 geordie

Mixed success on our first fishing foray. Your reporter caught four-fifths of fuck-all, but the other three hauled in the garfish, bait fish, herring and a magnificent squid. Those squid are full of ink. And they taste superb on pizza.

The ferry was late: we blame the Rottnest Island Authority. At least the ferry wasn't weighed down by Bealo's rods: he forgot them. Mind you we forgot the pizza trays.

Our plush Geordie Bay unit is absolute beachfront: the young worker who checked on our equipment was very efficient. She spotted we were light-on for knives and fixed us up.

It doesn't get any better than this. Some are whinging about how cold it is, but we are just thankful for the freshest air in the world.

A special thank-you to Rottnest police, who had a rod or two they could share - it meant Bealo didn't have to use the cheap and nasty handline.


Now we will make a dent in a carton of Coopers and plan our angling assault tomorrow.

offshore vibrance

We've got the good stuff: smoking sawdust for the fish smoker. It's mallee, and is "extra strong earthy flavour". We haven't seen the smoker yet: we'll collect it tonight. Hopefully it will fit the bill.

There is a fish out near Little Armstrong Bay swimming blamelessly, unaware it will be in a bucket this time tomorrow. We don't mean to sound bloodthirsty. Herring watch out.

We're keen to get to the beautiful island before the hoards descend. Rottnest has been featured in The (UK) Independent (Motto from a few years ago: 'It is. Are you?'). The Independent was Rotto Bloggo's paper of choice when we lived in London - and we're not disappointed with it today.

David Orkin goes around the usual suspects in his traveller's guide to WA. He claims Perth is "vibrant", and speaks sense about Rotto...

'Perth makes a great base for several excellent excursions. One of the most popular day trips is the short boat ride to tiny Rottnest Island (rottnestisland.com), which is just 11km long and 5km wide. A variety of boats leave for "Rotto" from Perth and Fremantle: the trip takes less than half an hour and costs from £32 return from "Freo" or £42 return from Perth with Rottnest Express (00 61 8 1300 467688; rottnestexpress.com.au).

'The island offers good swimming and diving: is virtually car free, so explore by bike – these can be rented from the island's Rottnest Bike Hire (00 61 8 9292 5105) from £5 per hour or barely twice as much for a full day.'

those stuff

Only two sleeps to go before we're on the beautiful island: 48 hours from now we may be blogging from the balcony of our plush beachfront Geordie Bay pad.

We can reveal that we're taking a herring smoker. Or we will be if all goes according to plan. It has to be collected from the father-in-law, for a start. And also it's alleged we need some woodchips.

Some readers of this blog will be aware of the cultural significance of smoking herring to Rotto Bloggo. We are excited it may be happening.

The good news about Rottnest continues to be communicated. This New Jersey travel writer has her facts straight: "The highlight of the visit was an excursion by local ferry to Rottnest Island (aka Rotto) where we rented bikes and rode around the approximately 7 by 3 mile island. Another transportation option, since visitors aren't allowed to bring cars over, is to take the bus that circumnavigates the island, stopping at any or all of the beaches."

Mary Altier (is she Californian, actually?) can't spell Fremantle, but never mind. It's pleasing that Rotto ranks with the Harbour Bridge, fending off crocs in the NT, yadda yadda.

And Mei Teng also liked her sojourn on the beautiful island - but had at least one concern: "Quokkas are herbivours and they rely on plant life as a source of water. As we were admiring and photographing those creatures, I noticed lots of dark brown droppings all over the grassy area. I was careful not to step onto any droppings as I made my way out of their shelter. Later, we were told not to come into contact with the droppings as those stuff have been known to cause illness."

the play's the thing

An associate has kindly reminded us about Waiting for Rotto, a Blue Room production that's now on.

We blogged about this island drama a while ago, and will endeavour to see it even though it's clashing with our next island sojourn: this time next week we'll be there.

Will the play mention the Angry Whopper?

You might think WfR is the first play to mention the beautiful island. You'd be labouring under a misapprehension: here are some of the plays that have...

Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff: a glimpse into the experiences of an obese American family as they cycle to the West End. Do they get there before evening, or will the seagulls peck them to death?

Setonix by Peter Shaeffer: a lonely Red Rooster check out chick embarks on a sexual odyssey as she investigates why a toolie blinded six quokkas with a West Coast Eagles stubby holder.

The Persian Rugs by Aeschylus: this laugh-a-minute comedy by the ancient Greek master features a bizarre attempt by Tony Sadler of Wembley to furnish all the island accomodation with colourful throws and kilims.

Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill: the nuances and paralells between colonial and sexual oppression are explored in this innovative drama, which starts in a 1906 drunken orgy in the Governor of WA's party and finishes with a private schoolboy sodomised by peacocks wearing ranger regalia.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (adapted for stage by Harold Bishop): the Ramsay family and their visits to Rotto in between being the slum landlords of the popular TV soap Neighbours is a skilful manipulation of temporality and psychological exploration and tragedy of the highest order.

shame about the name

Shame about the name? So says a commenter on a blog that went to Rotto recently.

pantone801 spent a recent day on the beautiful island. Their YouTube is amusing, despite the cheesy background music.

"Rottnest is stunning, one of the most gorgeous places I have visited", they say.

We also liked this Flickr spread: Landscape Urban. From graffiti to lighthouses to signs that have fallen down, Rotto has it all.

whale of a time

Apologies for the absence. We were down south (and admiring the Rottnest-like clarity of the water at Prevelly) and then it was back into the vortex of the working week.

Things about the beautiful island kept happening in our absence. Troublemaking The Worst of Perth blogger The Lazy Aussie had an all-too-brief stay: these pics are his.

Our island-loving associate Fremantlebiz snagged a stay yesterday when one of his associates snuck down to the wharf. The first of the month is an opportunity for Rottnest lovers.

The RIA is plugging away on Facebook: Hey guys, check out the latest page on our website. Every Wednesday we will be updating it so you can see what days in the following two months still have accommodation remaining. Especially handy in the summer period! The days are ranked as having either 'ample', 'adequate' or 'some' accommodation. It makes it easy then to just call Central Reservations, tell them the day you want and see what we have available!

And then this, a few minutes later: Sorry guys, the below message should have read 'ample', 'adequate' or 'none'!


It's a mere 11 days until Rotto Bloggo is there. Four nights of bliss.

leaver$

Ouch: 'Rotto costs double for leavers' is the grim headline in today's West.

'Accommodation fees on Rottnest Island during this year's school leavers' week will almost double in an attempt to recover soaring costs associated with the annual celebration,' is the lead.

That's the rule in reporting: costs never creep up, or increase - they soar, or they've been hiked.

Ljiljanna Ravlich hit the commercial airwaves this morning: she said when she left Govo SHS in 1975 she hit the beautiful island with her friends, and even allowing for inflation it didn't cost as much as it does today.

'Leavers renting a four-bed premium unit at Bathurst for the three nights set aside for leavers' week will pay $1422 this year, of which $1022 is for accommodation. The same unit cost $564 last year,' the West says.

Does it cost that much to clean up after the kids?

sugar hit

Is it possible to cram a vanilla slice into your mouth all at once? Some people give it a red-hot go when they're on the beautiful island - Gemma Boyd's friend Alisha, for example.

Gemma and Alisha got up at 6am to get the ferry two hours later. After riding around Rottnest they dropped in at the bakery and Alisha battled the snot-block: see the pics on Gemma's RTW Trip blog here.

After her sugar inhalation Alisha was so pooped she had a kip on the boat back to the mainland.

We're amazed to see the Urban Dictionary lists snot-block: it's here, between snot blaster and snot bong (which is not what you might think).

Our pic is of an American consuming a snot block. At least she's not throwing up and being dive-bombed by rapacious seagulls.

arrrr

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day. Me hearties! While few buccaneers or corsairs have made people walk the plank in Thomson Bay, Rottnest hasn't been without pirate encounters. After all, the beautiful island is antipodal to Bermuda.

The best one was made up last year (and covered on Rotto Bloggo here): a fishing boat called Pirate supposedly caught a huge great white.

Then of course there was this ad for the Lodge earlier this year, which featured buried treasure under the (kinda small) island's lone palm. Arrrr.

And let's not forget the Purple Pirates. One of this motley crew, Bosun Grog, "...s known to have ventured on the wild ocean many times and can often be seen singing at the baarrgh on Rottnest Island while collecting bottle tops for his Laarrgherphone. 'Ee 'as a vast repertoire of sea songs tattooed on the inside of his eyelids which helps him to strum his guitaarrgh and sing with his eyes closed - enabling him to plunder the hearts and wallets of defenseless audiences."

Shiver me timbers.

"Rotto favours private schools"

This story published today is white-hot. It's in the POST, and we can't understand why a ball-tearer like this isn't on the front, above the fold.

'The Rottnest ballot is random and computer-generated, but students at Shenton College are asking why their school keeps missing out on Leavers' Week accommodation.'

Oh yes. A bright Shenton College teenager is wondering why Scotch has at least 25 houses, PLC has 24 and Hale 27 - when the guvvy kids at SC have a mere three.

Hmmmm.

The Rottnest Island Authority wheeled out the big bureaucrat to speak on this one: Laurie O'Meara said any suggestion that RIA staff or any other person can influence the ballot is false.

"There is no, and there never has been, a ballot council of parent representatives in existence or any other external interference in the ballot process," Lazza said.

Will this be known as the Bulgarian effect?