Great night's sleep, woke around 6.30 for no reason, up at 7.30 for breakfast. Hostel provides bread, butter, jam, teabags, cereal, but no milk. wtf? Have my porridge and black tea. Bus picks me up [for Rottnest Island]. English girl, Melbourne couple. Joined by two Sydney lads and a wee family. Clouds are gathering. Pick up my bike and snorkel at the pier, get on the ferry and sit aft, which is the only outside section. Get talking to a German girl, Catherine, auf Deutsch. She is here with a school trip, while visiting a friend who is a TA.
Off the ferry, team up with the English girl from the bus, Jenny. She's here on a working visa, has a job lined up in a pub down south. We bypass a few busier beaches, finding a quiet spot. I get in for a swim, test out the snorkel. She just paddles. Later I find out she can't swim, so I advise her to do as I did - just take the plunge (boom boom!) and get some lessons.
The sun is out, but the water is relatively chilly. We sit on one of the beaches and chat for a bit. At another I use the snorkel extensively, seeing lots of tiny fish, one large flatfish, and another about a foot long. It's an odd sensation, seeing this alien landscape, especially while breathing like Darth Vader. Slightly magical though, the fronds and detritus on the seabed swaying with the tide.
The flies are a pest, but we several quokkas, including a baby one. Lots of photos. Hordes of teenagers back near the pier. School tradition to come drinking here at graduation. Ferry, bus, dinner of bolognese, shower, bed.
Off the ferry, team up with the English girl from the bus, Jenny. She's here on a working visa, has a job lined up in a pub down south. We bypass a few busier beaches, finding a quiet spot. I get in for a swim, test out the snorkel. She just paddles. Later I find out she can't swim, so I advise her to do as I did - just take the plunge (boom boom!) and get some lessons.
The sun is out, but the water is relatively chilly. We sit on one of the beaches and chat for a bit. At another I use the snorkel extensively, seeing lots of tiny fish, one large flatfish, and another about a foot long. It's an odd sensation, seeing this alien landscape, especially while breathing like Darth Vader. Slightly magical though, the fronds and detritus on the seabed swaying with the tide.
The flies are a pest, but we several quokkas, including a baby one. Lots of photos. Hordes of teenagers back near the pier. School tradition to come drinking here at graduation. Ferry, bus, dinner of bolognese, shower, bed.
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