Description of the attraction
Rotnest Island is located 18 km off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. Local aborigines from the Nungar (noongar) tribe call it "wajemap", which means "a place on the side of the water where the spirits dwell." It is a small island - 11 km long and 4.5 km wide at its widest. The total area is only 19 sq. Km. The entire island is a protected natural area - there is not a single private property on it. Australians simply call it Rotto, and for nearly 50 years it has been one of the favorite holiday destinations of Western Australians.
Already 30 thousand years ago, the aborigines lived on Rotnest, until about 7 thousand years ago the rising sea level separated the island from the mainland. It is believed that after this event the island was uninhabited for many thousands of years, as the Aboriginal people did not have boats to cross the strait. The first Europeans appeared here at the beginning of the 17th century - they were Dutch navigators. Captain Willem de Vleming in 1696 gave the island the name Ratnest, which means "rat's nest" in Dutch. Most likely, he did it because of the marsupial quokk living here - they really look like large rats.
In 1830, shortly after the founding of the port of Fremantle, a certain Robert Thomson settled on the island of Rotnest with his wife and seven children - here he grazed livestock and mined salt, which he then exported to the mainland. From 1838 to 1931 the island was used as a place of exile for the "rebellious" aborigines. During the First and Second World Wars, an internment camp was located here - mostly Germans, Austrians and Italians. In the 1940s, a small railroad was built on the island, which, together with the weapons installations and barracks, became known as the "Fortress of Rotnest Island" - today it is a popular tourist attraction.
The island's wildlife is quite remarkable. Rotnest is famous for three species of trees that are endemic, that is, they do not grow anywhere else in the world - the Rotnest pine, the Rotnest tea tree and the so-called skunk tree. Other native flora include sea mustard, spinifex and wild rosemary or wild rosemary.
One of the most amazing inhabitants of the island is the quokka, or short-tailed kangaroo. Its large population here is the result of the absence of cats and other predators such as foxes.
There are a lot of birds on Rotnest: in the coastal dunes you can find variegated cormorants, osprey, sandpipers, gulls, terns, parrots and reef herons. And on the shores of the salt lakes, there are Australian chilonocks, turnstones, red-breasted dunlin, shelled, wagtails and other birds.
The rich reefs surrounding the island are home to many species of fish, crustaceans and corals. Dolphins, Australian sea lions and even huge humpback whales are sometimes found in these waters.
Today, Rotnest Island, the largest recreational area in the region, is visited by about half a million people a year. Most of the tourists - 70% - come in the summer and stay here for just one day to get acquainted with the amazing nature and historical heritage of these places. Here you can also go diving, fishing or cycling along the surf.
Interestingly, graduates like to celebrate the end of school on Rotnest - at this time of the year, the island is even closed to other visitors, and in order to get there, you need to show your passport and school certificate.
