chile on isle

Rotto Bloggo readers would have noticed that snide comment yesterday about missing the big Rottnest news while examining the E.Taxi ride.

It seems a Destiny's Chile member spent some time on the beautiful island.

We are always most amused when a skivvy-wearing, beret-topped, hand-wringing, NIMBY-proclaiming, tree-hugging, real lager-quaffing, Juliet balcony-standing, little dog-owning, ooshta-yearning lefty member of the lefty intelligentsia subtly implies he (or she) could do a better job than a fearless reporter in the trenches by the mean city streets.

We had to fire up the electric internets to find out more about the DC member, who is Kelly Rowland (but we say in our defence we knew Beyonce was in DC).

From what we can tell she is not as popular as that Justin Bieber bloke, but she is quite popular ("...total record sales, when combined with the group, have surpassed 60 million" according to Teh Wik.

Anyway - Kelly was not on Rotto, as this snap of a computer screen yesterday shows.

happier times?

Just three-and-a-half hours away from the Troy Buswell press conference.

As Rotto Bloggo had to vacuum and attend to various other chores, we reflected: 'It could be worse.'

Here's a pic of Adele Carles in what might be happier times: a cheery group by the Bathurst lighthouse. Is it dawn or dusk? There's a Rottnest link to everything, we find.

Coincidentally outstanding local blogger Fremantlebiz - on about local birds at the moment - recently wrote about a wedding he witnessed at the same lighthouse.

"I'm suspecting the couple will reenact their blissful kiss at the same spot in anniversaries for many years to come," Paul predicted.

winter break

Only twenty bucks for a weekend on Rotto.

OK, it will cost a bit more: 10 hours work, and you have to get your own food and drink.

But it sounds good to us.

Yes, the volunteer weekends organised by the Rottnest Society are coming up again.

They have three weekends booked: accommodation for the first and third weekends will again be in the Caroline Thomson cabins; the second weekend will be in the Youth Hostel.

The Rottnest Island Authority will provide ferry vouchers plus Saturday night’s accommodation in exchange for 10 hours work over Saturday and Sunday.

You can go over on any Rottnest Express ferry on the Friday, and work on Saturday from 9am to 4pm and on Sunday from 9am until 12.30pm.

The projects to be done are determined and overseen by the Rottnest Island Authority and the Rottnest Society coordinates the volunteers.

Planting or environmental work: 11-13 June
Planting or environmental work: 13-15 August
Weeding: 17-19 September
Cost per person $20.00 to be paid to the Rottnest Society on arrival at Rottnest

To book email convenor@rottnestsociety.org.au or call Sue Folks on 9438 1413 or 0411 880 199.

vroom

More Extraordinary Taxi news: this report in today's POST...

An unleaded-fuel taxi was the latest vehicle driving on Rottnest Island this week.

Tourism WA's Extraordinary Taxi campaign had a four-day stint in Perth starting from Saturday, April 17.

Western suburbs stops on driver Doug Slater's and passengers Heinz and Patricia Markuse's itinerary were Kings Park and Rottnest.

The XT Ford Falcon cab was loaded onto the island's supply barge at Fremantle early Monday morning and hit Rottnest at half-past eight.

A Tourism WA spokeswoman said the passengers snorkelled, rode bikes and went on Eco Adventure and lighthouse tours.

The taxi returned to the mainland at around 4pm.

The spokeswoman was unsure if Mr Slater and his passengers had been to Rottnest before.

The Extraordinary Taxi website describes Rottnest as “one of the most extraordinary little islands on earth”, with attractions including beaches, bays and the quokka.

“One thing you won’t be seeing (on Rottnest) is any cars – quite an attraction in itself,” the website says.

But a Rottnest Island Authority spokeswoman said the taxi joined at least 60 vehicles already on the island.

The Authority has seven cars, nine buses, a railcar, five trucks, two Landcruiser fire units, three electric golf buggies, a petrol golf buggy and a quad bike.

The police have two cars, the nursing post has an ambulance and contractors Programmed Maintenance Services drive 22 vehicles.

Three businesses have a vehicle each, and cleaners have an undetermined number of vehicles.

shirty

Only 65 days to go until Rotto Bloggo is next scheduled to be on the beautiful island.

We will pack our Rottnest Society T-shirt - and also this marvellous new garment when we snap it up at Red Bubble.

Rotto 6161 is the latest fabulous design from fashion force House of Skink.

We can't understand why the City of Perth doesn't share Skink's dreams.

The four digits form Rotto's postcode, but they also happen to be the combined number of beaches and bays on the beautiful island, and the number of Scrabble games Rotto Bloggo was won while on a Thomson Bay balcony.

We decided against buying a Rottnest Channel Swim shirt this year - how many Ts does a man need, to paraphrase Tolstoy? - but we regretted it later.

secret taxi business

Except it wasn't secret.

Many thanks to legendary south-of-the-river blogger Fremantlebiz, who sent this exclusive pic of the Extraordinary Taxi on the beautiful island.

"I hate film crews at tourist destinations," someone peering over Rotto Bloggo's shoulder just said. "They tend to regard the public as an inconvenience and the local officials tend to go ga-ga."

Fremantlebiz has recently returned from a few glorious days on Rottnest -read his excellent reports here (he's on about endangered robins today). For more info on the Extraordinary Taxi, which was on the island on Monday, see here.

bubbling

More original art published on Rotto Bloggo.

Ever since we bought some excellent T-shirts off Red Bubble (we snapped up a couple of designs from thelazyaussie at The Worst of Perth) we have been keeping an eye on the site.

As with Flickr, perusing the images on offer is a way of immersing ourselves in the beautiful island.

This one shown above caught our eye: it is by Elli Christou and you can get it on a card for $2.77 or a print from $19.80.

"My first go at a landscape painting," she says of her treatment of Transit Reef.

We like it: a welcome change from the bog-standard cerulean blue of the 458 beaches and 923 bays.

drenched by the sun

We are indebted to Southall Travel in the UK for this news: the beautiful island has been judged one of the 30 - or 31 - best secret islands in the world.

Who has made this perceptive decision? None other than Travel + Leisure, a monthly out of New York with nearly five million readers, according to Teh Wiks.

No argument from Rotto Bloggo. The Southall people say T+L lable Rotto as a "sun-drenched reserve", so we clicked over to have a look.

"When Dutch mariners arrived on this antipodean island, they encountered the rare quokka, a marsupial that they mistook for a rodent (hence the name Rat Nest, or Rottnest)," T+L says.

"Since that unfortunate beginning, the sun-drenched reserve and its friendly, kangaroo-like inhabitants have welcomed Western Australians who take day trips via a 90-minute ferry from Perth (or 25 minutes from Fremantle) to surf and lounge on the sand." Or fish off the natural jetty!

"No private cars are allowed, and the residents will happily tell you that plans for a luxury resort are progressing slowly." Hmmm.

"For now, the best place to stay is Hotel Rottnest (doubles from $208), set in the former governor’s mansion overlooking Thomson Bay.

"T+L Tip: Buy your ferry ticket in advance, especially during the Aussie summer months. Once there, the spit is easily navigable on foot."

The spit? Does that mean the ferry jetty? These New Yorkers and their strange argot.

The T+L list is interesting, if tedious (there's no list, and so Rotto Bloggo had to click through until we got to number 23 to find the Rottnest page), and there are some other islands we had never heard of.

Number 15 is Espiritu Santo off Mexico, the Japanese Ogasawara Islands are number 27 (a flamethrower burst from Iwo Jima, and you can feed sea turtles), and number 10 (Seabird Key in Florida, a 10-acre spot that goes for US$5,595 a week for four).

brown water

A Rotto Bloggo associate regularly rants about the boaties in Thomson Bay and elsewhere: he is convinced they empty their toilets in the water.

"How many of them are going to do the right thing and motor out to where they can dump their sewage?" he frequently questions.

For those needing a reminder of dos and don't's with ones and twos, see here.

We were reminded of our associate's angst by this report from yesterday:

"round the island to different bays - all beautiful, sunbathed on white sandy beaches and snorkelled on the coral reef! saw lots of fish including a massive sting ray which ste swam right over and shit himself!!! (he was busy thinking of what happened to steve irwin!!! - crikey cant lose another ste!!!)".

Yikes. There's a day-old floater somewhere: alas the Mitchells don't reveal in which of the 332 bays or 602 beaches this evacuation happeend.

But they were able to post a microreview of Setonix brachyurus: "also saw the quokkas - king sized rats that are actually cute, they are like mini kangaroos!!"

quokka shocker

It's an outrage: the quokka is not worthy of critical assessment.

We were speechless with rage this week when we learned of popular US blog Animal Review's lack of attention towards the quokka.

AR has looked at the jellyfish, the alligator, the bullet ant - but zip on Setonix brachyurus.

Rotto Bloggo resisted writing to AR: we know to let the red mist descend before firing out indignant emails.

But we will be sending a cross missive to Jake Lentz and Steve Nash - and encourage our entourage to do the same.

Perhaps it is just as well there has been no AR microscope on the quokka.

Mr Lentz and Mr Nash make several juvenile attempts at humour about the jellyfish using the same outlet for its mouth and anus.

Would our fair creature escape similar ridicule for some perceived fault or strangeness?

Outstanding quokka pic from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka

rotto servo?

Does Rottnest have a service station? Does it have a dole office? Is there a university?

Hmmm. This site invites you to show what's on the beautiful island: "You can show your expertise of Australia by contributing and refining the information Bonzle has about Rottnest Island".

But why be satisfied with merely clicking? "Do you have a photo of Rottnest Island gathering cyber dust on your hard drive? Why not upload it and share your information with other Bonzle users."

Hmmm. What, pray tell, is Bonzle? We hadn't heard of it before. It's by Digital Atlas Pty Ltd and "it uses data from a variety of sources including those listed on the data sources page and like all such data is potentially inaccurate, probably incomplete and not up-to-date".

Indeed: "The nearest sealed road to Rottnest Lighthouse is Queen Victoria Street (23.5km away)."

Like Wikipedia, but not quite as popular?

Thinking about it, Rottnest should have a uni. We fancy ourselves as the Vice-Chancellor of Thomson Bay.

anthologise this

An associate glimpsed this on the Fellowship of Australian Writers site.

Sounds good to us.

Rotto Bloggo's literary links to the beautiful island are deep and meaningful: we have posted the first three chapters of the only known Bills & Moon romance set on Rottnest, for example.

Write Around Rotto

Weekend July 31 - August 1st 2010

A proposed Activities Program is being developed for the retreat, so potential guests can see the types of activities on offer. Details will be available soon.

We are also investigating some fundraising ideas to contribute towards catering costs and other expenses. Book your place with a deposit of $100 by 31st March (balance due 1st June).

There will be no tutors, instead it will be a weekend for individual writing during the day and sharing at night. The group may decide to produce an anthology from work begun during the weekend.

Make your bookings with Pat Johnson on 9384 4771 or email: admin@fawwa.org.au

Thomson Tiwi

Famed Rotto author Ted Snell had this item in The Australian about FotoFreo: it had some welcome Rottnest content.

"Peter Eve and Monica Napper's exhibition Yiloga! Tiwi Footy, exploring the role of football in Tiwi culture (on show at the Salt Store on Rottnest Island)...."

A desultory Google doesn't reveal any Yiloga! stuff, but we're sure it's fabulous.

Our photo for this post is also artistic: the beautiful island is framed by the sculpture, although it's hard to actually see Rotto. Take our word for it that it's there.

The artwork is Mark Grey-Smith's 'Centrefold' and is aluminium and black oxide: it was in Sculpture by the Sea in 2006 and bought by the council.

flagging interest

A man in Japan has been asking about the Rotto flag plans.

Rotto Bloggo was excited to get a Christmas Island flag on our birthday: the magnificent object features a golden bosun bird, the Southern Cross, and an outline of the island.

We shared this excitement and the man in Japan asked: “Does Rotto have a flag?”

It does now: here is Rotto Bloggo’s elegantly simple brilliant design featuring no bird, no stars, and an outline of the island.

The traditional Rottnest orange surrounded by the deep blue of the 127 beaches and 443 bays of the beautiful island.

Does it work? Would you be happy running this up your pole?

Could be worse: our superb creation, the Indian Ocean speck (and the delightful Mediterranean destination that is Cyprus) work better than banners like Andhra Pradesh, the stylised Gaza on Al-Aqsa University and NZ’s Chatham Islands.





Copyright acknowledgements:
Christmas Island flag by Zeljko Heimer, Cyprus flag by Martin Grieve, Andhra Pradesh flag by Antonio Martins, Al-Aqsa University flag by Eugene Ipavec, Chatham Islands flag by Jaume Olle.

on the go

onthegogirl enjoyed her stay on the beautiful island: check it out here.

There are a few worries: Thomson Bay becomes The Settlement, there's a "condo complex" somewhere, and quokkas ("like miniature Wallabies") are nocturnal.

Also her underwater camera was kaput, but she'll be back.

Worth a look is Danny's pic of a washed-up fish with "teeth worse than Ken Dodd".

And he's got a quokka video here.

Note both onthegogirl and Danny feed the quokkas. Naughty!

rotto forever

Our top tens, our food review of the hotel, our ranting, all the books we've found about the beautiful island - all of it (483 posts before this one) will be preserved for the nation.

For the world, even. The State Library of WA has recently emailed Rotto Bloggo with advice crack archivists would like to keep this blog on its books forever:

"We would be interested in archiving your blog to the Pandora National Archives and accordingly, I have forwarded your details to the Pandora team who will be in touch regarding formal permissions to archive your site," someone from the State Library emailed.

It's pleasing to see we are being more modest about this prestigious announcement than some other local blogs.

Note to year 8010: is the putt-putt felt at Brett Heady's Family Fun Park still torn? Is the wind sighing through the trees as gracefully as it does now? Do they still have the daggy curtains in the units? Or has the place been swamped by glowball warmening?

plonker

'This might have been popular back in Rotto [Rottnest Island] in 1990, but it's hideously sickly and more than just a little '90s.'

Hmmm. So says David Prestipino of Stone's Ginger Wine in this analysis of TOP 10 WINE TRENDS TO AVOID IN 2010 (followed by 10 MORE TRENDS TO AVOID IN 2010).

It (which we think is called Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine) is ranked below mixing sparkling and OJ, goon, and "pouring a bottle straight away".

Hmmm. There's this recipe for a whisky mac on the SOGGW site: 'Created by adding a splash of ginger wine to a glass of whisky. The mellow flavour and warming aftertaste of Stone's perfectly complement the whisky, producing a delicious drink that is guaranteed to banish the winter blues.'

Yum! Sounds like something to try in the last week of June when we're next on the beautiful island.

neighbours

Neighbors, do yourself a favor, Don't you mess with my baby when I'm working all night, You know that neighbors steal off of my table, Steal off of my table, ain't doing all right...

The Stones had it wrong - (and they can't spell) - for proof look no further than today's POST which has a scintillating story about neighbours, the beautiful island and Powerball-like luck...

NORMALLY YOU BOOK a holiday to get away from the neighbours.

But South Thomson on Rottnest is going to be much like home for two Mosman Park families next month.

The Campbells and the Kellys live next door to each other in Victoria Street.

They entered the island Easter ballot earlier this month and said their prayers to the great accommodation god.

This week they got their island paperwork confirming they have units next to each other.

“It must be odds of 10,000 to one,” said 13-year-old Maddie Kelly.

South Thomson wasn't the first choice of both families.

“I always tick the last box which say we'll take anything, anytime,” mum Nat Campbell said.

Also on the island for six glorious nights will be dad Ian Campbell and sons Will (11), Henry (8) and five-year-old Charlie, and parents Chrissie and Damian Kelly and their other daughter Eliza, 11.

“We'll be there for longer if someone cancels,” Ian said.

The two families are very close and even have a gate connecting their two back gardens.

They refer to their Mosman Park homes as the Campbell-Kelly resort and did not rule out knocking down a wall to connect their Rottnest accommodation.

On the schedule is the traditional first night Geordie Bay barbeque, a curry night and progressive dinners with other friends on Rottnest at the same time.

There will also be lots of fishing.

Ian said Rottnest was perfect and would change nothing about it.

“It's all fantastic no matter where you are,” he said.

Eliza said Geordie was her favourite spot.

“But Nappy Alley is still pretty good,” she said.

storm

It was so wet we got into the pool to stay dry.

Nyuk-nyuk. Even while rushing around the Trail of Destruction...even while getting spooky flashbacks of Beirut '82 while in Shenton Park...even while watching our car float away...we kept an eye out for Rotto stuff.

The Storm of the Century had little effect on the beautiful island, it seems. Rottnest had 8mm of rain in half an hour from 4pm - no biggie.

We reminisced last night about being drenched a few years ago while on the way to Colebatch. The courtyard flooded and we soaked all our tea-towels, but 30 minutes later it was all sunshine and twittering birds again.

throw down your guns

Rotto Bloggo has copped flak for posting about next months's Hoodoo Gurus gig on the beautiful island.

The person dishing out the dirt was too piss-weak to go public with their abuse.

Their ranting was: why would we give the oxygen of publicity to a motley crew as lame, uncool and daggy as the HGs?

Let us say this: Rotto Bloggo yeilds to no-one else in how unfashionable we are when it comes to music.

We are the sort of seriously unhip crowd that worship Australian Crawl (Reckless is better than Lennon's Imagine - see how uncool we are!), Yello and the early songs of Human League.

In fact, Reckless could be ABOUT Rottnest, until they mention 'totherside stuff:

Meet me down by the jetty landing
Where the the pontoons bump and sway
I see the others reading, standing
As the Rotto Ferry cuts its way to Thomson Bay...

Ah well: speaking of Rottnest tunes, check this out and let us know what you think...

Guru view

What a marvellous morning: chasing cops through the western suburbs as they sought an escapee, poking through bush in Swanbourne in the hope of finding him, and then getting the shot in Mitford Street as the poor bloke is put in the back of a van.

But even during the frenzy there was enough time to pause and get a long-range shot from Melon Hill of the beautiful island: squint enough and you can see cops working their way through the greenery.

Anzac Day is when the Hoodoo Gurus play at the hotel. Details here - the theme is Purity of Essence.

Sun 25 April - Hotel Rottnest, WA
Address : Rottnest Island: Bedford Avenue Rottnest Island WA
Tickets: TBA

purple prose from pink'un

We have to give a belated salute to this quality writing from the Pink'Un.

Yes, the Financial Times has visited the beautiful island - and liked what it saw.

None of the standard regurgitation of corporate facts and figures (63 bays, 21 beaches or whatever it is) here: we like the turn of phrase.

We love quokkas being compared to the size of handbags.

It is sandwiched within a report on the watery pleasure of Perth, which includes a mention of Kings Park.

Shame about the spelling error in the beautiful island's name but you can't have everything.

"Rottness, affectionately known as Rotto, is Perth’s island garden. It’s a 1,900ha cake of limestone with 30,000 years of aboriginal habitation to it. After years of dismal karma (it was used as an aboriginal prison and later as an internment camp for Germans and Austrians during the first world war and Italians during the second), it is seeking redemption as a wildlife reserve from which cars are banned; everyone travels the island by bike or bus.

"We hired bikes with a child trailer for the boys. The beaches and reef shorelines are, thanks to clear water over limestone, bright sapphire, though the water was so cold that the paddling quickly gave way to a hunt about the rockpools. Inland, we explored a series of pink-hued salt pans, where ballerina-like stilts pick brine shrimp from the diminishing waters.

"Rottnest is derived from the Dutch for “rat’s nest,” so named by a late 17th-century exploring sea captain, Willem de Vlamingh. They weren’t rats, though, but quokkas: a handbag-sized marsupial rare on the mainland but plentiful here, where it tumbles tamely in and out of trees.

"Most visit Rotto for a day trip by fast ferry, but you can also stay on the island in modest self-catering villas. (Rotto’s popularity makes a ballot for these necessary during school holidays.)"

sea of numbers

Can you do tables in Blogger? We normally leave these questions to more tech-savvy/younger colleagues, but tables would be good for this information.

We have the financials for last year's Rottnest Channel Swim and quoted from them in a POST story on the weekend.

THE ROTTNEST CHANNEL Swim had a surplus of more than $51,000 last year.

The epic event generated just over $622,000 in income, the majority of which came from entry fees ($456,564).

Sponsorship provided $94,193, merchandise sales were $40,022 and swim number plates netted nearly $11,000.

The swim's biggest expenses were water safety, beach set-up and briefings ($107,439), t-shirts ($58,251), landing fees ($25,701) and public liability insurance ($22,376).

The Rottnest Channel Swim Association organises the event: its biggest costs were an admin officer's salary ($73,308) and wages for an admin assistant ($14,516).

The timing system for the race cost $7705 and security $2930.

Association president Ceri Writer said money went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue and the Starlight Foundation.

karma

That admirable paper the POST has done it again: more news about the beautiful island this week.

A SUCCESSFUL GLOBAL timeshare and resort developer will throw his hat into the ring for the new Rottnest Island hotel.

John Spence, who is based in Subiaco and runs Karma Resort Group, is looking at building new reports in the Bahamas, Canada, the Philippines, Croatia, Sri Lanka - and Rottnest.

The Rottnest Island Authority called for new tenders for a new hotel on Mt Herschel in November: they close at the end of the month.

"We have received none, as the procurement process is still open," an Authority spokeswoman said this week.

But Mr Spence will complete a tender.

"I'm not sure how much of a story I can give you until the tender closes," he said.

"I'm very cautious of going to the media before it closes, as I'm also a commissioner on the board of Tourism WA."

But in a trade magazine Mr Spence is more forthcoming.

"...we are strong bidders to develop Rottnest Island in Perth," he told time-share magazine Perspective last month.

"Rottnest is an icon for Perthites: KRG is hopeful of launching the contract.

"We could never have done that as a pure time-share company."

Mr Spence started his first time-share in the 1990s in Goa, India.

Now KRG has resorts in Thailand, Indonesia, Greece and Australia.

The company is working on developing an all-villa resort in Margaret River, which includes a private air strip.

Mr Spence told Perspective his favourite quote is one by US businessman and investor Warren Buffet: "When people are greedy be fearful and when people are fearful be greedy."

fright of the Phoenix

From Belvoir to the beautiful island: you have to admire Thomas Mars, Deck D'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.

The fab foursome are French alt rockers Phoenix (naturellement) and according to Fairfax they had some Rottnest time the day after after their gig.

But drama was in store after a drink.

"...boat problems on the way back to Perth meant the trip was slow and rocky, and travelling at five knots per hour wasn't the nicest way to end their Perth sojourn.

"The boat was so late getting back, one of the band members almost missed his flight but some fast driving and clever thinking got him there in the nick of time."

That is a relief. Those blokes from Versailles are usually pretty nifty drivers.

Photo of Phoenix courtesy Teh Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(band)

Richard's big poo on Rotto

Gosh, we were excited on Thursday: there, at the bottom of a rant about trading hours, a man in a suit aired his opinion about the beautiful island.

After we read the Perth Now story we reckoned the rest of the media might miss the Rottnest angle - but no.

The beady-eyed Beatrice Thomas had a full report in The West the next day. And today there is more (too costly? too elitist?) which puts paid to our feeble planned efforts.

From PerthNow: 'He said he had returned from a recent holiday with his family at Rottnest and said sections of it were ``run down'' and it ``was a good example where free enterprise could do a better job that public ownership''.'

The West expanded: '"If you looked around Rottnest last weekend the place was magnificent," Mr Goyder said.

"The people who had been rewarded through risk-taking and innovation were there with their boats en masse, and that was terrific.

"And when you go back to the Rottnest Hotel, you see the real benefits of investment and greater service, making a return for the people who took that risk.'

Yes! Wealthy yachties and employers are good! So good they should run the villas and bungalows, too! There is nothing more magificent than a risk-taking innovator (or an innovating risk-taker) in his boat in Thomson Bay!

Was Richard Goyder on a nice yacht, or in the "decayed" or "crumbling" accommodation, we wonder?

Perhaps we will ask after all.

safe swimming

How good is that paper the POST? They keep the Rotto stories coming. Admirable...

Organisers of the Rottnest Channel Swim say they will heed calls to make the event safer.

A skipper in last month's event said it could be made safer in two ways.

“It was pretty chaotic and dangerous, and I think there are a couple of simple things they could do,” said the skipper, who did not want to be identified.

“They should limit the size of support craft and not make swimmers pass south of the marker buoys.”

The skipper said he would prefer to see a maximum boat length of about 30ft.

“I felt it was an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “There were 35ft launches out there – three times one in particular nearly ran over our swimmer.

“The driver wasn't being a hooligan – he just couldn't see around his bow.”

The skipper said the south of the buoy rule made for heavy congestion on the way to the island.

“Prior to the event I was keen for my children to make the swim,” he said. “After what I saw last month there is no way I would let that happen.”

The skipper said there was a lot of chatter on radios during the race about congestion and safety.

Rottnest Channel Swim Association president Ceri Writer said the event debriefing process had started.

“We are always looking for that type of feedback – we are all about safety,” she said.

“The rule about the buoys is to ensure there is no deviation by swimmers into the ferry channel. But we would review it if it is causing a problem.”

Ms Writer said no major injuries were reported from the event.

One boat capsized on its way back to the mainland: the crew was rescued and the boat was towed by Water Police to Fremantle.

Fremantle Sea Rescue said one of the five people on board was a non-swimmer and was not wearing a life jacket.

“In the sea conditions the chances of being seen would normally have been very slim,” the service said.

Ms Writer said the financial details of the event were still being finalised.

She said details would be released to association members at their annual general meeting next month or in May.

The association is not-for-profit and donates any surplus to various charities.

The POST calculated the event generated $517,500 in entry fees, and $59,700 from a law firm's charity challenge.

Ms Writer said sponsors of the event provided cash and in-kind support.

swimmer

This is, as they say at posh broadsheet papers, a bit of a read: patience will be rewarded by a mention of the beautiful island...it was in the POST last week...

A DEEP-WATER SWIMMER was stopped, searched in his boardies and picked up by police.

Soon afterwards the Cottesloe man received a visit from a police inspector with an apology, and then a big compensation cheque.

An hour after emerging from the surf at North Cottesloe Beach, Denys Martin (54) was arrested and taken to the East Perth lock-up where he was strip-searched and held for six hours.

He had refused to provide two armed police officers on the beach with his name and address and was whisked away in the back of a paddy wagon.

But he still has no idea why the police wanted to talk to him.

“What did I do wrong? I was swimming in the ocean,” he said. “I am deeply sceptical about the new laws.

“What really concerns me is that it happened under the current laws of stop and search,” he said.

“And that makes me deeply sceptical about the proposed new laws, which are still before Parliament.”

Mr Martin contacted the POST after reading last week's report about Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan saying people would not be stopped and searched on Cottesloe Beach.

On January 4 Mr Martin went for a long swim at North Cottesloe.

“I did about 3km – I'm not scared to go a long way out,” he said.

A North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club lifesaver was concerned, though, and swam out to speak to him.

“I told him I was fine and I'd been swimming for 30 years,” Mr Martin said.

But when he got back to the beach two officers from Cottesloe police were waiting.

“One started to lecture me about swimming in the ocean,” Mr Martin said. “I was disoriented and dehydrated and needed water – but he started being gung-ho.”

The situation deteriorated: the officer asked Mr Martin for his name and address; Mr Martin refused to provide these, the officer then arrested him and he was taken to the station.

When Mr Martin was again asked for his name and address, he asked what he would be charged with.

Eventually he provided his surname on the understanding police would give him some water.

He got the water, but was then put in a hot van and taken to East Perth.

“They took fingerprints, photos and there was a full body search – humiliating,” Mr Martin said.

He was released after six hours and given a train ticket so he could get back to Cottesloe, still wearing his boardies.

Seven weeks on, Mr Martin is feeling more positive about police.

He says senior officers stepped in and took him and his complaint seriously and promptly.

“I was very impressed with an inspector who came to my house, listened to my story, and apologised on behalf of police – that was very professional,” he said.

He believes police will destroy the fingerprints and other details they collected during the day.

But he still wants answers from North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club and Surf Life Saving WA.

Mr Martin said he was considering legal action against the two bodies for what happened.

He says he is not against the proposed new stop and search laws, but is worried about the potential for them to be abused.

Mr Martin's brush with police is similar to that of eccentric would-be Rottnest swimmer Herbert Voigt 42 years ago.

The German immigrant became famous for his deep-water swims, towing picnics and beer hundreds of metres out from the beach.

The press nicknamed his Mr Sharkbait.

In 1968 the City Beach surf lifesaving club called police after its lifesavers failed to coax Mr Voigt back to shore.

Eventually a police officer followed him to his old car, where, after a scuffle, he was arrested and handcuffed.

Later in court, Mr Voigt alleged that the officer had sworn at him so he pushed him away.

"Is there any law to stop me swimming out to sea?" the swimmer asked the constable.

"Yes, you have caused inconvenience to the lifesavers and concern to the public," the policeman said in evidence.

The magistrate threw out a charge of creating a disturbance and cautioned him for refusing to give his name and resisting arrest.

He was fined $50 and had his licence suspended for dangerous driving on the way to court.

A few months later Mr Voigt left Cottesloe Beach alone to swim to Rottnest – but never arrived.

Three weeks after he was last seen an escaped convict found a skull at Eglinton, and the coroner ruled it was Mr Voigt's.

have a heart

This is still a Rottnest swim post: we were at the great event last weekend, as you know, and buttonholed all manner of people and balloons.

However we have had to fire ourselves again because we missed this Rottnest angle.

As the bluff gruff editor says in Chris Pash's The Last Whale: "We don't pay you to sit around and call people who aren't there."

Indeed, and Rotto Bloggo doesn't pay us to not get the story of people in the vicinity.

This crowd say they were at the beach flogging their island-themed wares.

We're not sure about the quokka-shaped heart, but what do you reckon about the island-shaped heart?

We think it has a certain carto/cardio je ne sais quoi.

buggered

We were buggered yesterday, and all we did was hoon about on the Eco Express, then stand at the finish line, have a coffee and walk to the lighthouse.

How did the swimmers feel?

"Over the moon," winner Deane Pieters said in a flat voice when asked by the meedja how he felt after finishing first. He had google marks imprinted into his head and squinted out of his left eye. "I've still got the shakes," he added, and we marvelled at his trembling legs and the sticky tape on his nipples.

The first woman said she got "stung to buggery" during the first thousand metres. "You look up and you think you're nearly there but then there's still two ks to go."

Peter Thomson finished somewhere between third and fifth - our notes are unsatisfactory - but he said he had maximum respect for those who took eight hours or more to finish. "They're the real heroes," he said.

swim

What an incredible day.

Up at 0400, at Cottesloe by 0500.

The orderly panic on the beach was amazing. We watched people coat themselves in wool fat as the sky lightened.

The first wave left at 0545: we were too busy interviewing to notice.

But we were soon on the media boat and interviewing (ie yelling questions at canoeists as they shepherded their swimmers) some more.

We noted the Channel 10 team coming last, the editor of The West in a four-man crew, a certain reporter who had to retire below decks to sign a liquid sea shanty: the media were hard at work on the water.

A few hours later at Thomson Bay we watched the early arrivals come in. They were absolutely buggered.

The atmos on the beautiful island was superb.

How do you get in on on of these four-person teams? It looks like a lot of fun.

calm before storm

The dredging has stopped. The grease is ready. The butterflies are flapping their wings.

Only a few hours to go until the big swim. The POST has a marvellous story today about a 15-year-old ready to tackle the waves while recovering from a broken arm.

That is the spirit! That's how we fought Johnny Turk to a standstill and repelled the Japs at Kokoda.

All being well - if we don't sleep in - Rotto Bloggo will be north of the Cottesloe beach start line at 0515 tomorrow.

If we take enough pics and get enough quotes we can milk it for a week's blogging.

In the meantime, we will gaze at this restful island scene we spied while waiting for documents on level 6 in the Federal Magistrate's Court this morning.

It is Barbara Chapman's Rottnest View, 1996, oil on gesso.

powerful

Complaints on Rotto? About what?

Rotto Bloggo is the first to whinge if something isn't right, so we like this WA Today report about power grumbles - and we loves the Rottnest reference.

'The number of complaints to WA electricity retailers has risen more than 20 per cent, with bill problems making up the lion's share,' the site says.

'...1903 were received by Synergy, up 27.7 per cent on the previous year. Horizon Power, which supplies customers in the north and east of WA, had a 36.5 per cent decrease in complaints, to 124.'

That's heaps - and the situation on the beautiful island?

'The number of complaints from non-residential customers rose 10.4 per cent, to 158. Of those Synergy received 127 (up 59 per cent), Horizon 25 (down 60 per cent), while Alinta got four, and Perth Energy and the Rottnest Island Authority one each.'

a sea of stories

There are more stories about swimmers in next week race around than young thugs carrying carving knives in Northbridge - and it's all good.

See here for Scotch boys, here for a bloke from Bondi, and grab the POST for Fiona Stanley swimming through sludge to Thomson Bay.

Today's W supplement in The West has a few, including Rotto cop Matt Oakley, who reminded us there's no pool on Rottnest.

The best thing in W, though, is a column by Robert Drewe about the beautiful island. A mix of reminiscing and musing.

Will these guys be watching the swimmers as they thrash overhead?

two waves

It was discombobulating: we crested Eric Street in Cott this afternoon, prepared for a clear view of the beautiful island...

...but it looked like Port Hedland circa 1977, when a strike meant the iron ore ships were heaving to and hoving off out to sea.

Most disappointing. Maybe it also looked like what the Nazis saw at Normandy before they had to start scurrying back to Berlin. There seemed to be a lot of ships out there.

We're sure our crappy phone pic doesn't do it justice, but here it is anyway.

The swim gets ever closer: don't forget about the Great Two Wave Directive And Reminder...

'In 2010, the WAtoday.com.au solos will leave in two waves. First, all female solo swimmers and some of the male solos will enter the swim channel. In the next wave, the remaining male solos will leave. Next are the Channel Ten duos and then the Hahn Super Dry teams will set off in waves of about 100 every 15 minutes. The Lavan Legal Charity Challenge Teams must go with their age category wave.'

Irish swimmer

We've cut-and-pasted this marvellous story from the POST and attached a Rottnest swim numberplate we spotted in Swanbourne on the weekend...

Jennifer Hurley not only wants to finish the Rottnest Channel Swim – she wants to attend the after party as well.

Last year was the Irish swimmer's first Rottnest swim: she did well, but passed out after she made it to Thomson Bay.

“I loved it, but it was longer than I expected,” she told the POST by phone from Cork this week.

“I had a few hiccups at the start, and I made a mistake with my sun-cream.

“I didn't put it on at the start, and I dropped it in the water while I was swimming – and got very badly burnt.”

Jennifer, a 37-year-old mother of five, is doing the Rottnest swim in preparation for her first English Channel swim later this year.

The European event is nearly twice as long as the Rottnest one: the strong tides change every six hours, it is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and only half of the solo swimmers finish the swim.

Jennifer has done a lot of open swimming and the Rottnest event is a favourite.

“I loved it last year,” she said.

“The water is so warm compared to Ireland – and you can see the bottom all the way across.

“The atmosphere is tremendous and the solo swimmers get cheers from everyone.”

Jennifer is originally from Perth and moved to Ireland 12 years ago.

She has always loved swimming but only started competing in open water events when she moved to Europe.

Swims she has done include various events on the Shannon River in Ireland, a 10km swim at Nice in France, and Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco.

“They keep me sane,” she said.

“I also really love red wine and chocolate, so they keep me fit as well.”

Jennifer is raising money through her English Channel swim for Barretstown, a charity in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland which helps children with cancer and other illnesses.

“It's a magical castle in the foothills of the mountain where kids go for fun,” she said.

“I'm hoping to raise 10,000 euros or more.”

Her children, who are aged between eight and 19, helped her choose which charity would benefit from her swim.

“If the kids aren't on board, the swimming doesn't work,” she said.

“I sat down with them and we threw around some ideas – and they decided who to support.”

Jennifer arrives in Perth five days before the February 20 Rottnest swim.

After the 19km event she will spend two weeks here with family and friends.

quokkers

Big it up for Jess Manea: she had a fab time on the beautiful island and still has that Rotto magic.

Snorkelling, fishing and her first game of mini-golf at Brett Heady's Family Fun Centre - it was the perfect time on Rottnest.

Even Canadian nurses fall in love with the beautiful island. "Arriving at Rotto at sunset will be one of the most beautiful sites of this trip," said Brittany, Danielle, Jodie and Valena from southern Alberta.

"There is a cute pub on the island that we went to and on the way we had our first encounter with Quokkers. These creatures are tiny little marsupials that look like miniture kangaroos and are only on this island."

It was so good they swore they were in the Caribbean.

We love this pic of a tree on Rottnest by Flickr user MonzTris.

pulchritudinous parade

There will be a bevy of beachside beauties later this month on the beautiful island.

A heat of Miss Universe WA will be held on Rottnest.

The event will have three heats with 11 women in each.

Four contestants from each heat will go through to the final at Burswood next month.

The pulchritudinous parade will be at Hotel Rottnest on Saturday, February 27, from 2pm.

Geordie Google?

Monday is your last chance to nominate Rottnest to get Googled.

We were so excited to read the beautiful island was a certainty to get ogled by Google - but when we rang the Google people they said Asher Moses was incorrect.

How can you get something like that wrong?

Anyway...the search engine behemoth is using a tricycle to photograph Australian places not accessible to cars.

Google's Street View trike is a 110kg modified bike with a mounted Street View camera and GPS system.

The photos it takes are used in its Maps Street View feature.

Google has four categories in which people can submit suggestions: city life, cultural areas, natural wonders and hidden gems.

Submit your ideas at www.google.com.au/trike.

Entries close on Monday 8 February – winners will be announced on 25 February.

more dancing

Outstanding south-of-the-river blogger Fremantlebiz has given us an excuse to mention Under The Lighthouse Dancing again.

The last time we looked at UTLD it was primarily about the house built on the beautiful island for the film.

In his amusing post today, Mr Fremantlebiz wonders if Blame - being filmed in the hills as we speak - will make it onto next year's Oscars list.

"There have been a lot of non-Oscars for locally made feature films. The psycho-drama Last Train to Freo which I mentioned on 18 September 2006, failed to be nominated. Same thing with a local 2008 boxing epic featuring colourful real-life underworld identities titled Two Fists One Heart. It comes out on DVD next month.

"And who could forget the 1997 melodrama Under the Lighthouse Dancing which was made at great expense on our very own Rottnest Island: 'The story of six friends who journey to an island off the coast of Australia for the weekend. Two of them, Emma and Harry, announce that they intend to get married, but have made no plans, nor do they have a proper license. Emma also announces that she is very ill, and all she wants is a wedding. The other four friends then try to find a way to make it all happen…' Surprisingly, it also missed out on an Academy Award."

Mr Fremantlebiz reproduces the UTLD poster - which has emboldened us to do so as well.

Speaking of local fillums, we wonder if the cast and crew of Harlequin were able to see Rotto from the groovy house they were in?

Rotto poles

More art news about the beautiful island just in.

This Rottnest scene oil is being exhibited in Freo until Feb 25.

It's the work of Liz Unwin, who says:

"This scene is from a photo I took of some old poles near the shore. I loved the patterns in the sea but, as this was my first oil painting, I found them difficult to reproduce. I managed to capture the effects eventually and learnt a lot in the process (thanks to Brian Simmonds, my art teacher)."

The exhibition is at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle.