rotto yobbo no go

Or should that be Yobbo No Go Rotto? No Go Rottoyobbo?

The headline in the paper is 'Rotto bans for yobbos': "TROUBLEMAKERS, including misbehaving schoolies, would be banned from Rottnest Island for up to two years under new laws to be introduced in State Parliament next month."

Prohibited Behaviour Orders will mean yobbos indulging in rampant and regular anti-social behaviour can be banned: their names will be published.

The online version has a better headline: it refers to "troublemakes".

We hope targeted troublemakes include persnickety reporters, destructive unionists and stomping vet nurses.

island bikie

How cute is this? Yet another Rottnest achievement.

LR mastered the art of riding a bike without training wheels: the whole blog post, here, is a must-read.

"The big motivator was to learn before the school camp at Rottnest — EVERYONE else was going to be riding without training wheels and LR was determined to have it figured out."

Figure it out she did - and there are some high-quality Rottnest pics of two-wheeled bike action (and a quokka).

Well done LR. You threw away the training wheels a long time before Rotto Bloggo did.

Not even this week's 96kph winds could knock the kids off their bikes.

quokkas smash penguins

It has been a titanic battle, but Rottnest has emerged the victor.

Someone from Singapore fired the first salvo: "Will be in Perth first week of June and other than the city, would like to include a day trip. Which of the two for better encounter, thought penguins are all out in the sea during the day? Should I do a glass bottom boat tour at Penguin or Rottnest? These day trips are all quite expensive though for a family of five. Any advice?"

A Perthite responded to the challenge: "Rotto is an " inhabited" island with cafe, shop/s, hotel. You can bike around and have a day out. Penguin Island is uninhabited except for wildlife. They do not compare. It depends on what " encounter" you are looking for. I have done neither glass bottom tour so cannot comment."

They do not compare. We like the sound of that.

Then a local shot himself in the foot: "I can't compare the two either, but please be aware that the ferries to Rotto are a bit limited this time of year so you'll need to plan well. I discovered this firsthand when I was trying to make bookings for an overseas visitor. We never did get it sorted as the limited ferries presented too many logistical problems for us."

Logistical problems? Last time we looked there are plenty of ferries to the beautiful island, even when there is just a lot more water than usual.

The Perthite blotted his copybook with a limp-wristed claim you should not do any winter Rottnest swimming: "Howzat's link is very good and Melnq8 makes an excellent personal observation. Both posts do lead to one observation - trips to either island demand reasonable weather. Limited ferries could be due to the time of the year i.e. winter weather - wind and/or rain. Next week the weather is looking decidely unfriendly for water activities and it is definitely too cold to swim IMO."

Rotto Bloggo has been immersed in the water in July and is all the better for it.

The concluding blast: "I've been to both many times and in my opinion Rottnest is a far better option for a day trip (though as you stated it is an expensive outing). To save some monies leave from Fremantle and try to pick a nice day that is not too windy. Bike riding is fun but may not suit your family as it is a rather tiring ride. There are very good bus services on the Island. The Bayseeker bus is good value for a family."

stable politics

Rottnest is one of the best places in the world in which to live.

Who makes this bold (yet truthful) claim?

An element of conservative Brit broadsheet the Daily Telegraph.

The reasons are listed by the paper: "retiree-friendly, peaceful, family-friendly, beach, sunny, low crime, politically stable, fishing, great outdoors".

No argument there. And nominator 'bingo' elaborates: "a peaceful paradise. No cars , deserted coves with clear blue waters. Quiet Quokkas and busy Bee- eaters. Feel the cares of the world slowly slip away !"

We occasionally took the Tele when we were in the UK. They have marvellous obituaries. And we liked reading a paper founded by a bloke called Arthur B. Sleigh.

Freddie who?

We have no idea what MUBI is. It has a Facebook page - and one of our friends is a fan - but we are none the wiser.

We are on surer ground with Freddie Rottnest. Who can forget his incredible sound work on The Incredible Torture Show (aka Bloodsucking Freaks)? If it wasn't for him the IMDb rating would be 1.4 instead of 4.1.

Freddie Rottnest is a great name for someone in the movies. It has the same ring as Otto Preminger, Sohrab Shahid-Saless and Martin Agrippa.

The beautiful island should have a film festival with Freddie as patron, muse and judge.

champion

We love this Flickr photo: it all the elements of taking it easy on the beautiful island.

Google's translator is not entirely convincing, but we think it means the woman is winning at rummy. Elsewhere there are the Rottnest staples: wine, stubby holders, cards, maps, a bowl of lollies - and a Geordie Bay balcony.

Who is Bella? She has "big boops" and many fans on Rottnest (including one who looks disturbingly like a dissolute Russell Woolf). They wished her a happy birthday.

last

Rottnest is the last thing you'd want to see on your trip to Perth.

A prestigious hotel club travel blog (er, called HotelClub Travel Blog) lists the cultural centre, the belltower and Kings Park as must-see before the beautiful island.

But when you cross Gage Roads you can have some white-knuckle excitement picking up seaweed in Thomson Bay (see final pic).

Sheesh. In other news, check out this blog, which describes Rottnest as a "dreadful place" - a terrific mix of words and images.

And don't forget to put Rottofest in the diary.

how much value?

It's getting closer: only 37 days until we're on the beautiful island.

When we're in Cottesloe - attending a fire, snooping 'round flats, sitting in on a council meeting - the view is unbearable. Some days Rottnest seems to be at the end of John Street.

What better way to pass the tile while fantasising about the beautiful island than entering a competition with $1181 of Rottnest stuff to win?

Except...there isn't that amount of island goodness to hoover up if you're the lucky entrant.

The Fremantle and Rottnest prize is worth $1181...but that's split into $500 in Freo and East Freo (where dat?), and $626 19km from Freo.

Don't misunderstand us: a ferry to the island plus a nice night in at the hotel is not to be sneezed at.

And that only adds up to $1126 anyway.

You have plenty of time to enter: it will be drawn in August.

say misty for me

What do you reckon? Rottnest mist?

This pic is in the Winter Escapes brochure in The Sunday Times. 'Experience Rottnest Island magic from just $339 for 2 people, 3 nights inclusive of ferry travel.'

Yes please. But we're not sure it's a pic of the beautiful island: we haven't seen a lot of early-morning mist while wetting a line first thing.

Maybe we mist it?

Some say they've seen it.

bed burning

This news (in brief) in that fine newspaper, The Post, today...

Getting new gas systems will cost Rottnest authorities more than 5300 beds later this year.

The Rottnest Island Authority will shut the 28 six-bed cabins at the Caroline Thomson accommodation area (701-728) from July 26 for a month to complete the work, which includes new hot water systems.

(Rotto Bloggo apologises for not having a cabin pic to hand).

raptor rapture

Fancy helping monitor ospreys on Rottnest Island?

For the first time volunteers have been invited to watch the magnificent raptors.

The Rottnest Island Authority wants people to monitor ospreys for a full day four times a year.

The volunteers will spend 30 minutes a shift observing each osprey nest on the island.

The dates are Wednesday July 14, Wednesday September 15 and Wednesday November 10.

“Staff will support volunteers in the field, however volunteers who are regularly available and perform to a high standard may be set up to work without supervision from staff,” an Authority spokeswoman said.

“Volunteers for these monitoring programs need to have flexibility as dates may change depending on environmental conditions.

“As these programs require training to ensure that data is accurate, it is also preferred that these volunteers can commit to at least two monitoring events.

“Volunteers require a driver’s license and will need to apply for a permit to drive on Rottnest.”

Volunteers are also sought for frog monitoring on Tuesday evenings until October.

To get involved contact Authority volunteer coordinator Sally Sneddon on 9372 9736 or sally.sneddon@rottnestisland.com.

Picture courtesy Fremantlebiz: for an outstanding mini-essay about birdlife (including ospreys) on the beautiful island, go here.

boy's own

In a roundabout way - perhaps we will reveal more on the weekend - we discovered another fabulous book about the beautiful island we will add to our groaning shelves.

Jack's Island is a humorous yet heart-wrenching account of the adventures of a boy growing up on Rottnest during the Second World War.

It's by Norm Jorgenson, who has written heaps for young readers.

A review from his site: "Not many books have me laughing throughout, but the adventures and mishaps of the two main characters in Jack’s Island are hilarious.

"I am not exaggerating when I say Norman Jorgensen’s latest offering to the literary world is one of the best books I have read this year.

"Jack’s island is a poignant look at the hardships of war, strong family morals including the occasional hiding dished out to youngsters and the importance of helping neighbors.

"Jorgensen’s characters are lovable and when I shared their adventures there was no doubt life was tough during the war but I felt admiration for their nobility.

"Even tough this is a youth novel for middle readers , it is a great read for adults as well."

liverish

Rotness? Rotnest? WIP?

We have been scratching our head at the latest item on the Internet about something associated with the beautiful island.

"As Someone requested me the Rottnest Express Logo, here it is and a W.I.P of a livery on a Mini !," says this on something called Forzamotorsport Forums.

"i might add some stuff on it, and i plan to choose another car to make another livery of the Rotness Express. Any comments are welcomed, and any ideas/suggestions of which other car i should choose !!"

The Rottnest Express people might like it.

Does it mean there will be another vehicle on the beautiful island?

"wow that looks great. I don't know what it is but looks fantastic," someone on FF said.

The livery creator said: "Haha , i dont really not either. i had this request about "Rottnest Express" and searching on the web, seems like its about "trips" "tour" ,"travels" in Australia ."

More head-scratching.

free thongs?

We were snapped out of our funk today by this travel writing in the national daily broadsheet, which had someone saying the beautiful island was like Bali's Bukit peninsula and the Greek islands.

Hmmm: "...he points out the big stash of toiletries, the pillow menu, the two
styles of dressing gown, the complimentary sarong and beach basket, the fridge stocked with little bottles of Italian fizzy pop in neon colours, the espresso machine, iPod loaded with cool tunes (customised according to my pre-check in requests) and then, with a whoosh, he pushes open a ceiling-high door to reveal the plunge pool."

What, pray tell, is a pillow menu?

You say Bukit, we say...much better is this item from Fremantlebiz: his writing is far superior to any lumbering travel writer. Today he's on about the big lighthouse. We love lines like: "My favourite historical Rottnest Lighthouse photo is one taken of..." - it implies any right-thinking person would have at least a dozen photos of the historic pile.

Some are more terse about their island adventures. This blogger was able to say more about what s/he didn't buy at Myer than the emotion of Rottnest:
MONDAY
Heading to Rottnest. Its an island 25 minutes about 1.5 hours away from Perth by Ferry + admission entrance fee. Am taking the train around the place.
TUESDAY
Checking out from Perth City YHA- and heading to Sydney by plane.

compulsory reading

Blink and you will miss the Rottnest reference in this POST story from Saturday.

If Rotto Bloggo was in charge we would grill new citizens to make sure they absorbed all the fabulous details about the beautiful island.

THIRTEEN PEOPLE BECAME Australian citizens at the Cottelsoe Civic Centre this week.

One wore thongs during the Tuesday night ceremony, a family waved Australian flags and all were serenaded by the Men in Harmony Quartet.

“It's fantastic you have chosen to call Australia home,” mayor Kevin Morgan said.

“We are particularly honoured you have chosen to become citizens in the Town of Cottesloe.”

Mr Morgan said becoming an Australian citizen and being part of a democratic society brought responsibilities as well as privileges.

Thong-wearing Benedict Baron, 43, was born in Barnstaple in Devon and first came to WA when he was nine.

“I just love this country,” he said.

“The beauty of the place, the space – and it's a relaxed kind of society.”

Mr Baron was first brought to Australia by his father 34 years ago and stayed for three months.

“I always thought I'd live here one day – it took me a while,” he said.

Another new citizen was mother-of-two Thembinkosi Brooking, from Zimbabwe.

“It's a good place to raise kids,” she said.

“It's beautiful and the people are nice.”

Mr Baron said the main he missed was family and British newspapers like The Guardian.

Mrs Brooking said she most missed her family and isitshwala, a polenta-like food.

“You have it with stew – you can buy it here but it tasted different because in Zimbabwe it's cooked over a fire.”

The other new citizens were Michael Allsopp, Christopher Hill, Pamela Keenan, the Remke family (Stephan, Christiane and Ben) and the Eyers family (Anthony Edward, Finola Katherine, Aisling, Anthony Conrad and Finola Cara).

The new citizens received copies of Ruth Marchant James' history of Cottesloe, an uncirculated commemorative $1 coin from the Mint, a book on Perth, Fremantle and Rottnest and an Australian flag.

Afterwards they joined Mr Morgan and councillors Greg Boland and Davina Goldthorpe in snacks and drinks.

smart traveller

Only 63 days until we are next on the beautiful island. It is considerably longer until we are in India and Nepal, when we have a month on the sub-continent, and hopefully a couple of days in Honkers and 16 hours in China tacked on the end.

Rotto Bloggo being the organised outfit we are, we have checked out and signed up to the government's Smart Traveller site.

Most countries are safe as houses: the biggest worry in Austria, for example, is probably missing your stop on the underground train because you're staring at someone over 70 and wondering what he did during the war.

But other places are riskier: the Niger travel advice doesn't mince words, for example.

We have modified it if the Feds need to issue one for Rottnest...

# We strongly advise you not to travel outside the main settlement because of the very high threat of running out of water, the unpredictable fishing situation, the risk of seeing a boat link-up and clashes between quokkas and ospreys.

# If you are on Rottnest, you should consider leaving, as Rotto Bloggo wants all the fish for himself. Australians who decide to remain on Rottnest should ensure that they have personal security measures in place against hungry seagulls. You should monitor local information sources like outstanding Rotto blog Rotto Bloggo for details about the safety and security environment.

# There is an ongoing high threat of drunkenness against anyone in the north region of Thomson Bay, and a serious risk of being thrashed at Scrabble. If you do decide to travel outside Thomson Bay, you should travel in daylight, in convoy and with a local guide. Foreigners have been seduced from their vehicles in the past by island mermaids.

# The political and security situation on Rottnest is unpredictable following a sex scandal on the mainland in April 2010.

# You should avoid the fruit from the Moreton Bay figs in the settlement area as they may be very slippery when you're walking home with a skinful.

# You can't get the paper until 0830. The Electric Intertubes provides news until then. There's nothing sorrier than seeing someone at the shops at 0800 looking for the paper.

# Be a smart traveller. Before heading to Rottnest:

* remember the fish smoker
* you can't pack too many tea towels, poo tickets or books.