we just got back from a wonderful 3 day trip to rottnest island - a popular holiday destination located about 11 miles off the coast of perth. jason was there as part of the "upper airway symposium," which was hosted by his research group, the western australia sleep disorders research institute. people in this field from all over australia as well as a group from boston were all present. i was one of only a few "tag alongs" in the group, and felt very fortunate to have plenty of time to take advantage of all that the island had to offer.
wednesday morning, jase and i took the morning ferry and got to rottnest in time to spend the whole morning at strickland bay, swimming and surfing before the first session started that afternoon. one unique thing about the island that i really enjoyed was that since it's an "a" class reserve, there are no cars allowed and you must either rent bikes or take the shuttle bus to the various bays and beaches. my afternoon consisted of a nice siesta and reading by the pool at the rottnest lodge! ahhhh... so relaxing!while jason was in the sessions thursday morning, i met up with the wife of one of jason's colleagues and went exploring (by bike) all around the southern side of the island. here are some of the gorgeous shots i captured that morning:
one other fun fact about rottnest is that it was actually named for these cute little quokkas (part of the marsupial family) that are the island's namesake. legend has it that some of the first people to set foot on the island thought these little fluffballs were rats, and the name developed from 'rat's nest' to 'rottnest' island! due to the fact that they have no real predators on the island and love the food that people leave behind, they are very tame and pretty much come right up to you and sniff your hand!
on the last night, we headed over to the rottnest country club for a bbq and some lawn bowling. thanks to brit's pub in minneapolis, i think i pretty much stunned everyone on our opposing team with my skills - after a few lousy tosses, it all came back to me - leading our team to victory! with only a week to go before classes start up, i am so glad i got the chance to see such a hidden treasure of natural beauty so close to where we live!
3 comments:
anna, those things look like rats anyway, really, they look like the rous's from princess bride, which scares me. it's snowing in b-more, AGAIN, and my mom is in town, and everything is stressful. can you come home? please?
That sounds soooo fun!!! I'm glad you're enjoying your "final days" before school starts.
susanne (and anna), i've actually SEEN an RUS (or several) in bolivia. they are huge and gross. luckily, they were on the shore and i was in a little boat, so i didn't have to interact with them directly. bleh.
also, these pics are beautiful. add this to the list of places to visit :)
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