Western Australia, 4000 km west of Sydney, is the less visited part of Australia, even for Australians. We based our visit from Perth, an amazingly large and robust city of over 2 million inhabitants, considering it is considered the most remote major city in the world. It is closer to Jakarta, Indonesia than Sydney. A land of stark beauty – from the incredible beaches of Lancelin with its sand dunes meeting the ocean, to the Rottnest Island, Quokkas, Emu, and other unique wildlife and birds, to some of the strangest landscapes with the darkest skies in the world in the Pinnacles. Enjoy a trip through this unique and beautiful part of the world.
“Quokkas and the highway to hell “
We drove from our hotel to Fremantle, the departure point for the fast ferries out to Rottnest Island. The island is famous as the best place in the world to see Quokka.
Rottnest Island was named by the Dutch, and translates to “Rat’s nest”, The Dutch thought the large creatures on the island were rats. They were not. They are Quokka, a relative to the kangaroo that is found only on the island, and a couple of others. Dubbed “the cutest animal in the world,” posing with one for a selfie has become huge for tourists. The poor things seemed not amused at times as tourists poked and pushed cell phones in their faces.
We drove back to the hotel and our guide asked if we enjoyed riding on the highway to hell. Huh? She explained. The Canning Highway is the main road from Perth to Fremantle. Back in the ‘70, a young rock group used to drive the road late at night after playing in clubs in Perth back to their homes in Fremantle, providing the inspiration to AC/DC’s hit “Highway to Hell.”
