Rottlist

A few things in life are certain: the righteous dominance of the Australian cricket team. Strife in the Middle East. 98 per cent of the world loathing Vegemite. And end-of-year lists in the mainstream media.

Notable op/eds in the New York Times this year – see here. The worst of 2007 sport, according to the Sydney Morning Herald – see here. Google’s annual Zeitgeist list of most popular terms and words used in searching (Rottnest didn’t get a mention) – see here.


So of course Rotto Bloggo has its list of 10 most noteworthy island events for the year that’s about to expire. We’ve interrogated People In The Know, Rotto identities both known and anon., filtered news events from the past 365 days and thrown darts at the board. Only a couple of these have been invented.

10: in January, the Rottnest Society gives both barrels to the State Government over the new hotel due to be erected at Mt Herschel: “The government has let us all down in not keeping a written commitment to allow the Western Australian public to comment via a properly constituted public comment process on the concept plans for the proposed new hotel at Mt Herschel”.

9: in July, a known union troublemaker stubs his toe while fishing off the rocks at Little Armstrong Bay, a notorious public relations operative is nearly violently ill on the ferry over to the island, the state’s top reporter makes her famous eggplant moussaka, and Mrs Rotto Bloggo thrashes Rotto Bloggo at Scrabble.

8: On Anzac Day the West reported on a Union Jack lots of blokes from the 2/28th Australian Infantry Battalion signed in WW2. One of the signees was Leonard Allan Wilkes, who was born 1 November 1913 in Kununoppin. He enlisted in 1940 in Claremont – and his “locality on enlistment” – where he lived – was Rottnest Island.

7: the Geordie Café was up for sale after having been in the hands of a woman called Emily for six years.

6: Scott Fava (we can quote from the SMH article above): “The say it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog - but that doesn't apply to quokkas. The Western Force backrower threw around a member of the protected species during an end-of-season trip. The biggest lower? Fava. The quokka is still running wild on Rottnest, but Fava was fined $11,000 and publically declared he had an alcohol problem.”

5: June: a French traveller called Dede described Rotto as “paradis sans voiture”. Exactement.

4: A journalist from upstate New York, Aaron Munzer, puts Rotto on his top ten list about Australia. Rotto Bloggo pointed out he’s put it only at #7, which prompted this reply from Mr Munzer: “A grotto, in addition to being "a small cave, usually with attractive features" is also a cave that floods often during high tide. So, while my usage of it might not be entirely accurate, I thought it got the point across. I just wanted to clear up the record: I didn't number the places; Rottnest was not my number seven. It should have been higher. Also, the WWII forts I visited on the island were definitely ruined. Just an observation. I'm sure there are guns in 'superb nick', but they must hide them very well. I guess that like the drop bears, the ruins are just for Americans.”

3: October: Sheila McHale peers into a fridge, drinks champagne on the jetty, and gives news on unit refurbishment progress. The crowd goes wild.

2: sometime in August, the number of images on Flickr tagged with Rottnest exceeds 10,000. The Internet, blogosphere and Web 2.0 go wild.

1: the Rottnest Island Authority refuses to release the whole Synovate document ‘Evaluating the Rottnest Island Experience (Final Report)’ to Rotto Bloggo. A whole lot of extra work is instantly created for someone in the Freedom of Information office.

no sex toys on Rotto

It would've been nice to have been on Rotto on the stinking hot Boxing Day: the most it got to was 38.1C, considerably cooler than the 43.2C or 44.1C or whatever it was around Perth. Hawaii was very temperate, too: it was always in the low to mid 20s with the odd sunshower and about 30 rainbows a day.


What's been the most unusual thing you've found in your Rottnest bungalow? Rotto Bloggo once left a boombox there: when we remembered we called the RIA and it was safely returned to us at Barrack Street via a late ferry. As the pic shows, when we arrived on our last trip our window had a delightful egg stain. But we've never found sex toys in the place - unlike Hawaii.

When we got to our timeshare on Oahu, at the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club, we settled in and unpacked. Our friends found something deep in a drawer, though: a plastic bag containing a number of sex toys - two were surprisingly large - and a range of accompanying lubricants.

What to do? We put them to one side, then a bit later reception rang: the previous guests had left "something" in the rooms, and could a member of staff come up and look for it? "The sex toys?" we asked. There was a stunned silence on the other end. "We don't have any need for them - come up and get them."

The staffer who knocked on the door looked a bit apprehensive. We handed the bag over. "Heavy aren't they?" we remarked. Later there was another call from reception: a gift basket was on the way up to reward us for our honesty and no doubt compensate us for the gruesome discovery.

last minute Lodging

Looking for last-minute Xmas accomodation on Rotto? Check out eBay user 8616elaine: s/he has something at the Lodge: “Dec. 24-27 Lakeside apartment queen/ single/+ Inc. breakfasts xmas lunch” for $900. she says it’s legit: “the Lodge has Ok'd a transfer. We will be on the Island and would meet you at the Lodge on 24th to collect payment, book you in etc”.

While you’re there you could hang your latest art acquisition on a wall: here’s another eBay link to a print of a Rotto scene: looking into the mall. “If this is a place where you have visited in the past and rebember how really beautiful this place is and always wished you got a picture to remember it by then this is for you”, says nobbyyabe. “I am not sure who the artist is however I have photographed his signiture for you experts. We purchased this limited edition for $350 approx 8-9 years ago in Perth. It no longer fits the decor of our house so reluctantly we have decided to pass it on to someone who really appreciates it. Starting bid $280”.

Rotto Bloggo is back from Hawaii. We had a magic time. The snorkeling and snubaing! The mountains and hiking! The pools and beaches! Pearl Harbour (although they spell it Harbor). It’s – this is a big call – almost as good as Rottnest. There are windfarm windmills on Maui, like Rotto, and accommodation with sea views, like Rotto.



Important research into oceanography and seismology happens on Hawaii – and something botanically important may be happening on Rotto, too. Flickr user Frogga Hops has a couple of dozen pics up of boffin-like people investigating something (the accompanying pic is titled ‘study site’) but there are few clues as to what they were working on. Frogga Hops also has a pic of a man with a condom on his head, and the image is titled ‘dinophysis’ – Dinophysis norvegica, of course, is an armoured, marine, planktonic dinoflagellate bloom-forming species associated with DSP events and commonly found in cold neritic waters. The mystery deepens…

aloha

Rotto Bloggo is off to Hawaii for a couple of weeks, so there will be a brief interregnum between news of the beautiful island. We'll be comparing the Basin with Maui, the Bakery with Starbucks, the Wadjemup lighthouse with a volcano and Rottnest Society T-shirts with Hawaiian shirts.

It was good to see the two Western Farce players have been fined more money, and that the RIA may also slug them some cash...

Also in the SMH, someone says the beautiful island has a funny name: "...right up there with the Bungle Bungles in terms of unfortunate place names". But the writer then distinguishes himself when he describes Rotto as "an absolute gem" and a "sumptuous playground"...

Enjoy the Perth World Cup this weekend...it's Australia's richest surf ski racing event...

While you're on Rotto, look out for James and Laura, who seem to be working in the pub and living on the island. Bliss!

TWOPpo Rotto

What’s the crème de la phlegm of the beautiful island? The expensive goodies from the bakery? Red Rooter? The ridiculous rules at the pub? (no jugs of beer, for example).

Rotto Bloggo has been scratching its bonce pondering this during the last week as we’re big fans of superb local blog The Worst of Perth. If you need a laugh-out-loud moment thanks to cheeky writing and arresting images, TWOP is a must-read.

Historically there are plenty of worst Rottnest items. Many dead Aborigines, for example. Schoolies? We don’t think so. Arrogant yachties? They’re no more arrogant than anyone else. The new four-and-half-star hotel at Mount Herschel? It hasn’t even been built yet. People who jump the queue at the liquor store?

Someone just suggested the delapidated mini-golf course (torn green carpet, lots of bird poo) is a Worst Rotto feature. But Rotto Bloggo things the course is quirky, and its faults are merely a challenge for a keen mini-golfer.

If you asked one of the passengers on the Macedon, the Uribes or the Shark how they enjoyed their introduction to Rottnest, you wouldn’t get a favourable response. Today's pic shows someone in the midst of the old ferry heave-ho on the way to the beautiful island.

Anyway, we’ve sent a photo we ran last year to TWOP in order to get some Rotto coverage. If all goes well Rotto Bloggo will become TWOP’s international correspondent.

* Some people find the trip across to Rotto the worst, but they feel better after staggering down the jetty and having a restorative coffee at Dome.

leavers, Lana and a Lodge

A lot of people who come to this blog are looking for information about Leavers Week: they put things into Google like ‘rotto leavers 07’ and ‘rottnest island pinky's news night’ (the latter string only gets posts from last year, though).

The beautiful island has endured another wave of schoolies. There weren’t many dead: eight were evicted early last week, according to the ABC, and the Thin Blue Line was generally happier than they were last year. The frenzy was condensed into four weekdays this year, instead of a longer period that included a weekend.

"We're just not seeing the levels of intoxication we've seen in the past, we're not seeing the drug taking we've seen in the past, and overall the leavers period on Rottnest has been a great success so far," Sgt Paul van Noort told Aunty.

One Ash Blackwell told The Sunday Times the four-day frenzy meant for a more-concentrated imbibation.

"Most of us are cramming two weeks of drinking into a few days'', the 17-year-old was quoted as saying. Much like any adult, really! Do we need to fuss so much about kids on Rotto? Many adults do the same, or even worse. The jetty is still there, the lighthouses haven’t fallen over, Brett Heady’s Family Fun Park is still open for business (keep the rugby players away from the quokkas, though).

Rotto Bloggo interviewed Australian Idol contestant Lana Krost recently. She was going to Rotto for Leavers, and seemed very nice. One of her favourite things is a white dwarf bunny named Pancakes: she got him a few weeks ago after she returned from Sydney and Idol. Lana thinks he’s the “cutest little thing ever”. She’s also got about 10 birds at home and a dog called Pippin.

It’s not just schoolies who were on Rotto last week: Belle Taylor at The West tracked down the new owner of down-south’s Cape Lodge, Peter Larsen. But Peter was about to have a dip and didn’t want to chat.

“I’ve just arrived at Rottnest over here, it’s not good timing and I would prefer not to comment if you don’t mind…I’m about to have a swim,” Dr Larsen told Belle.

Western Force de frappe

The case of the mistreated quokkas reached a sorry yet predictable climax today.
‘CAPPING a horror week for the Western Force, controversial star Matt Henjak has admitted to having a drink problem and asked rugby fans for forgiveness,’ The Sunday Times reported.

Matt was one of the rugger buggers fined an exceptionally small amount of money for mistreating quokkas on the beautiful island (the other was Scott Fava).

‘The former Wallaby has revealed he is seeking counselling on the dangers of alcohol abuse and working with a psychologist,’ The Sunday Times continued.

That’s alright then! ‘The demon drink made me do it’, is the feeble excuse. Too much sherbet – and of course you would hammer-throw quokkas and stuff them in milk crates. Boys will be boys!

Rotto Bloggo is disappointed (but not really surprised) that there wasn’t more of a ruckus, and that the RSPCA in WA didn’t bag the Farce. The Sydney Morning Herald did, though, in this whimsical item which wasn’t really to our taste but did manage to point out Western Force is much more force de crap than force de frappe.

boat floats, biz riz

We were the third person on board the Rottnest Spirit for its first trip on Tuesday.
We were going to Rotto to report on the refurbished bungalows in Nappy Alley: also present were other media heavyweights (Channels 9 and 10, Carolyn Monaghan from ABC 720, and Brendan Foster from the Fremantle Herald).

We’d reported on the Spirit before, but we were chastised this week for not including the number of passengers it can carry. The number is 200.

It was a nice ride to the beautiful island. The Spirit has a double hull. It seemed very smooth. There was OJ, sparkling wine, muffins and scrolls for breakfast. Can’t led the media go hungry.

Tourism Minister Sheila McHale says the new boat, which cost Oceanic $12 million, is a sign Rotto business confidence is soaring. Soaring higher than a freewheeling gull above the tearooms. Higher even than the top of the Wadjemup lighthouse.

“This major investment is a real indication of the level of private sector confidence in Rottnest and in tourism in Western Australia,” Ms McHale said in her media release. “We are entering a new era as business engages with the island and Rottnest’s popularity soars.”

Hmm. Business has been engaging with the island for a long long time, from making salt to charging the earth for bread. Popularity? It’s pretty popular now.

Ms McHale said an estimated $60million was due to be invested in Rottnest Island by the private sector: “$6.5million will be spent on the Quokka Arms hotel, a new Dome cafe is being built and negotiations are continuing towards a new $50million hotel…business confidence in Rottnest has never been so high and it augurs very well for the future…the Carpenter Government is boosting our State’s tourism industry to create new jobs and opportunities for people and preserve our unique lifestyle.”

Hmm. Is giving the go-ahead to a huge new hotel preserving Rotto’s lifestyle?

McHale's navy

It was McHale’s army on Rotto today, too, as dozens of people invaded a Nappy Alley unit.

Tourism Minister Sheila McHale cut a ribbon across the front door of Gull, or unit number 211, in South Thomson.

The thronging crowd seemed like gulls as they huddled and devoured morning tea after the event.

“Ms McHale also unveiled 43 refurbished units in South Thomson, meaning 85 per cent of the island’s 308 holiday units have now been upgraded or refurbished,” said her media release.

“We’ve also reached another milestone – all asbestos cement roofing has now been removed and replaced with colorbond,” Ms McHale said in her release.“It also keeps us on track for the refurbishment program as set out in the Rottnest Island taskforce report to be finished in 2008.”

The media were keen to know if schoolies would be staying in these now-pristine places. No they will not, the Minister said: Nappy Alley is families only.


The refurbished unit looked very nice. It was certainly a lot cleaner than the one we checked into earlier this year. The Minister had a poke around the fridge, people inspected the shower and bedrooms, and marvelled at the view from Gull’s front porch.

The crowd zipped across to Rotto on the Rottnest Spirit: more detail about that tomorrow.

off the soap box

We were at the Freo Markets the other day and we saw this Rottnest soap.

Mariners' Soap on a Rope lathers in salt and fresh water. "Great for boats, holiday home and Rotto", says the manufacturer. "Made with coconut oil...good for waterways."

Looks good to us. There's no fragrance. The rope is hemp. Why wouldn't you pack one of these when you're next going to the beautiful island?

Rotto Bloggo had it's HOME supplement (The Sunday Times) hat on when we were at the store. The owner told us a version of this tale, in the Wikipedia entry on soap: "...soap takes its name from a supposed "Mount Sapo" where ancient Romans sacrificed animals. Rain would send a mix of animal tallow and wood ash down the mountain and into the clay soil on the banks of the Tiber. Eventually, women noticed that it was easier to clean clothes with this "soap".

"The location of Mount Sapo is unknown, as is the source of the "ancient Roman legend" to which this tale is typically credited. In fact, the Latin word sapo simply means "soap"; it was borrowed from a Celtic or Germanic language, and is cognate with Latin sebum, "tallow", which appears in Pliny the Elder's account. Roman animal sacrifices usually burned only the bones and inedible entrails of the sacrificed animals; edible meat and fat from the sacrifices were taken by the humans rather than the gods. Animal sacrifices in the ancient world would not have included enough fat to make much soap. The legend about Mount Sapo is probably apocryphal.

one death every eight weeks

Visitors to the Aboriginal cemetery on Rottnest are all too few. Rotto Bloggo has touched on the beautiful island's sorry indigenous history before (eg 'Tie them up like dogs'), but it's worth mentioning regularly.

So it was good to read this excellent Phil Haberland column on Perth Extra on Sunday: "If sadness was something you could physically touch, you would feel it here", Phil notes about the cemetery.

"Between 1838 and 1903, Rottnest was a prison for Aborigines. More than 3000 were transported from all over WA to the island to serve sentences for breaking British laws, of which they had no knowledge or understanding (such as six months for stealing a pipe or two years for killing a sheep).
"With chains around their necks and legs, they endured barbaric treatment and conditions. This is not "bleeding heart" history – just a statement of fact that can be found at the Rottnest Museum.

"There are more than 360 unmarked graves in the Aboriginal Prisoner Cemetery. That means that over 60 years, Aboriginal prisoners must have buried one of their number every eight weeks."

Phil talks about the cemetery and also thinks about Kate Grenville's The Secret River, and invites visitors to have a look at the place.

"...if you are at Rotto's pie shop or holidaying there, take the kids for a stroll, explain what happened, and for what it's worth, maybe say a prayer.For me, the word "sorry" still comes to mind."

chicken like Miss Maud's coffee

An update on the fast food situation on the beautiful island...you'll remember our "Less work for Mother"?? post last month, about tenders closing for a new fast food outlet in the mall.

The tender relates to the site occupied by Red Rooster, whose lease is coming to an end. What's the latest?

"Evaluation of the responses is being carried out at the moment. Until the process is complete, the details you have asked for will not be released," Rottnest Island Authority bugle Penni Fletcher-Hughes tells Rotto Bloggo.

"I will let you know when the winning tender is announced."

OK. We look forward to the details. If a new fast food outlet goes in, the RIA will have to change this on their site: 'Red Rooster offers a delicious range of roast chicken meals, rolls and wraps, snacks and a selection of salads. They use fresh A-grade chicken, marinated for over 12 hours, and because their famous chicken is roasted, not fried, fat ends up in the cooking tray and not on your waist. To end a perfect day at Rottnest, it's gotta be red.'

*Food pictured is about halfway between slow and fast.

do you like to clean?

Looking for another job? What about cleaning on Rottnest? Recent newspaper classified ads could be just the ticket for you.

“Housekeepers reqd for servicing units. Ferry leaves Fremantle @ 7:30am. Start time 8am. Call ISS on 9445 4410 or Txt “ROTT” to 0438 965 401”, instructs one.

The other is too long for Rotto Bloggo to retype, but there are Onsite Cleaning Supervisor positions where you live on the island and must be available all hours. They also need a Cleaning Admin Clerk: must “have customer service skills, hospitality exp pref.” Send your resume to lbeard@tempo.com.au or fax 9445 4422.

What’s the cleaning like on Rottnest? One prominent western suburbs identity wasn’t impressed with it three years ago: in a newsletter Colin Barnett had this to say about the place...

“A sewage system dating back to 1935, non-compliant gas reticulation, buildings in need of re-wiring, non-operational water tanks and substandard accommodation and cleaning.”

As they say in Leon - aka The Cleaner - if you want a job done well, hire a professional.

a mean cloud

Another great Flickr image of Rotto.

This is by Flickr user geoffrey.fisher: Rottnest Jetty to Perth was taken on September 8, 2005.

He has five Rotto images: we also like this one, Big Light from Rottnest.

It’s not well-known the Big Light (aka the Wadjemup lighthouse) was a climate statistic-gathering location from 1879 to 1995.

The mean minimum temperature on the island was 11.5 degrees, during August. The least amount of rainfall was in January. The mean number of cloudy days during September was 12.1.

In case you were wondering, the lighthouse is at 32.01 degrees south, 115.50 degrees east.

"Less work for Mother"??

A new fast food outlet is on the cards for Rotto.

Tenders for the operation closed last month: see ‘Lease to Develop and Operate a Take Away Food Outlet in the Central Thomson Mall’.

The Rottnest Island Authority is being a bit tardy in providing your humble blogger with more information: we emailed an Authority operative on Wednesday with some questions, but there’s been no response so far.

How many companies submitted a tender? Who were they? Where will the food outlet be in the mall (eg next to the general store)? When will the winning tender be announced?

It’s a mystery so far. While another Red Rooter* or Scungy’s** isn’t to everyone’s taste, you’d think a fast food place on the beautiful island wouldn’t have the, er, issues they do elsewhere.

For example: fast food places seem to attract an awful lot of crime. Here’s a random instance, plucked from the electronic headlines: Axe-wielding man arrested over fast food smash-up.

This is by Chris Mcgoey, who is supposedly a fast food security expert:

‘Fast Food or quick service restaurants are unique commercial properties. They operate late at night or 24-hours a day staffed by crews of young adults or juveniles. They are largely cash-based businesses with a high amount of workplace violence against employees. By design, they are conveniently located on major thoroughfares for quick service. The nature of this business style makes it very convenient for customers. Unfortunately, this style of operation also makes it an attractive target for aggressive or intoxicated persons, robbers, and other criminals.’

Indeed. Another issue with fast food places is litter. Do we really need more fast food on Rotto? Isn’t the beautiful island more in tune with a leisurely meal on the barbie, or a feast prepared slowly in the kitchen?

*and**:for our overseas visitors: Red Rooster, Hungry Jack's

that's the Spirit

Oceanic Cruises’ new 25m-long catamaran is the first new commercial vessel to service Rottnest in 10 years, according to WA Business news.

The Rottnest Spirit was built by Sabre Cat Marine in Henderson.

Nothing more about the boat on OC’s website, but WABN also reported the company has new owners: Tim and Tammy Shuttleworth.

“We want the Rottnest experience to start when people get on board the ferry,” Mr Shuttleworth gushed to WABN, no doubt thinking of the “full bar, quality sound systems, granite benchtops and LCD screens” on board the Spirit.

Tim told the paper he means to refurbish his six vessels.

Rotto Bloggo likes the sound of OC’s new services: an 0700 from Freo and a 2000 departure from Rotto.

WABN noted Scott Bailey (Bailey’s Marine Fuels) bought Rottnest Express/Boat Torque from Peter Purves recently.

Basin landmark

Rotto Bloggo discovered this week that the beautiful island played a role in a significant precedent-setting legal decision.

This is a bit from Law of the Surf, from a 2003 edition of the Australian Law Journal:

“A significant case especially in relation to surf related liability is that of Nagle v Rottnest Island Authority where the High Court held that the Rottnest Island Authority was liable for injury sustained by Nagle who had been injured in a diving accident and suffered severe spinal injury becoming a quadriplegic.

“Nagle had dived into an area of Rottnest Island known as the Basin and in diving into the water had hit a partially-submerged rock-ledge. The Basin was described as small sand-bottom u-shaped bathing area on the northern coast of the island surrounded on all sides except the north by a flat-rock area known as a wave-platform, approximately 25cm above low-tide level.

“In this instance, it was held that the Rottnest Island Authority should have erected a sign to warn of the dangers. The High Court explained that it was clear that the rocks existed and that the Authority knew of this hidden danger, therefore, a warning sign should have been erected, especially in a context where the Authority encouraged people to use the Basin as a swimming facility.

The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Kirby has been one of many referring to this case: “…this was the case in which the cost of a sign…was virtually zero and was contrasted with the consequence of the admittedly foolhardy conduct of diving into water from a rock ledge.”

Another reference: “His Honour referred to Nagle v Rottnest Island Authority (1993) 177 CLR 423 (seeE&E Insurance Review, vol. V, no. 1, p. 60; vol. VI, no. 1, p. 42; vol. VIII, no. 1, p. 44) for the principle that a notice may transform a plaintiff’s knowledge of the existence of a danger into a more lively appreciation of the danger.”

Rottnest risk

More Rotto celluloid.

A Fish Tale “expos(es) an issue that needs to be heard by the local West Australian community”, according to its makers.

“The documentary, about exploitation of Rottnest Island’s natural resources, is swimming around the globe without a hint of tiring,” says Black Pearl Pictures (Black Pearl, of course, is also the name of Johnny Depp’s ship in those pirate movies).

The flick won best film at the Margaret River Film Festival and the Hawaii Ocean Film Festival’s Best Short award.

“It explores the delicate nature of the Rottnest marine environment and the risk it is being put under by oil exploration”, according to the Western Suburbs Weekly.

BPP advise you to keep an eye peeled for A Fish Tale at a film festival near you.

great expectations?

Continuing our look at the Synovate research done for the Rottnest Island Authority…

Nearly a third of people stayed in villas; 19 per cent were in units; Kingstown was eight per cent; tents seven per cent.

Ten per cent of people were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the accommodation, with another 20 per cent neutral: neither satisfied or dissatisfied.

The greatest unhappiness is with the linen and bedding: 26 per cent either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, and 27 per cent neutral. Only 47 per cent were satisfied or very satisfied.

Furniture and fittings weren’t far behind in the unhappiness stakes. 22 per cent either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, and 25 per cent neutral.

The ratings for standard of accommodation, cleanliness, cutlery and crockery, maintenance services and luggage delivery were better.

Overall, there were high levels of satisfaction with accommodation: bungalows fared the best, while cottages fared the worst. Tents and villas were the only types that had some very dissatisfied people.

People liked the guided tours, although 80 per cent of visitors said they didn’t go on the two-hour coach tour, or see the Oliver Hill guns and tunnels, or go on quokka walks or Aboriginal history tour or visit the lighthouse.

Expectations: 10 per cent of visitors said their expectations weren’t met – up from six per cent in 2004/05.

A fifth said their expectations were exceeded, and 69 per cent said their expectations were met.
The vast majority of people said they would return to Rotto and would recommend it to others.

A future post will look at the results for ‘Boaters Visiting Rottnest Island’.

waves reveal happy campers

You’ll recall in our post are you Experienced? we said thanks to Freedom of Information laws we’d got some Synovate research done for the Rottnest Island Authority.

“This report details the findings for the 2005/06 Rottnest island Visitor Survey (based on all data collected in waves 1, 2 and 3.”
(Wave 1 saw 140 people interviewed from mid-June to mid-October 2005, wave 2 was for 271 people quizzed from mid-October 2005 to mid-February 2006, and wave 3 saw 275 people interrogated between mid-February and mid-June 2006).

More than one in four come from the “North Metro” area. We guess this means the western suburbs.
Nearly 60 per cent of people have a gross household income over $80,000.
Nearly half had visited Rotto more than 10 times.

How did they get there? Dunno: a large chunk of page 29 was blacked out: the RIA said it would need to get third-party approval to release ferry information.

About a fifth of visitors had heard about accommodation rate increases/rises/upgrades – nearly half said they would go to Rotto anyway.
A third hadn’t heard anything about Rottnest – nothing at all!

Satisfaction: boaties are the least-satisfied. Visitors from Perth are the least-satisfied of the visitors.
Value for money: 81 per cent think Rotto is ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Seven per cent said it was ‘poor’.
“Reasons for poor rating of value for money of Rottnest Island”: 37 per cent said the ferry cost too much; 32 per cent said the food and accommodation was too expensive.

A quarter said the accommodation was poor value.
Five per cent were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the facilities and services on Rotto.

What did people think about Red Rooster, Dome, the store and the bakery?
Dunno: the RIA removed the seven-page section ‘Businesses on Rottnest Island’, because of the third-party thing.

Tomorrow’s post: what people think about the villas, cabins et al!