The Quokkas of Rottnest Island (Where Gumbo was #111)

This was a tough travel quiz but one of our travel sleuths was able to solve it! Congratulations to Jill (Jill’s Scene) for figuring out the name of the animal (a small marsupial known as a Quokka) and where this was (Rottnest Island off Australia’s west coast).

Australia is a remarkable place to visit with some of the most interesting flora and fauna anywhere. From flocks of colorful parrots to troops of kangaroos bouncing around, if you love nature and the out-of-doors, Australia needs to be on your travel bucket-list.

(Quokka, Rottnest Island)

My wife and I were visiting Perth in Western Australia some years ago, a city we really enjoyed. Not far from Perth is the small port of Freemantle where many prisoner ships from England landed centuries ago; from here you can catch a ferry (or if you have more cash, a seaplane) to Rottnest Island, home to the charming Quokka. It makes for a perfect day-trip but stay longer if you’ve got time. There are a number of quaint accommodations on the island.

(ferry leaving Freemantle for Rottnest Island)

(arriving at Rottnest Island)

Quokkas are not much larger than a house-cat and, like kangaroos, they are marsupials (with pouches for their young). They were once common in Western Australia but the introduction of predators (mainly dogs) devastated them. The original Europeans were also hard on these little guys, which they considered pesky rodents. This misconception goes back to the Dutch who named the place Rottnest (i.e. rat’s nest because they thought quokkas resembled big rats). A favorite pass-time a few centuries back, after drinking large portions of alcohol, was “punting a quokka” — basically treating these cute creatures like a football. Now there are only small colonies of quokkas persisting, the best preserved on isolated Rottnest Island (where an estimated 10,000 survive).

You’ll certain to spot quokkas when you explore Rottnest Island. Some you’ll see at a distance…

Some will be trying to hide….

Others will be very curious about you and will approach you….

This curiosity was especially true of a specific quokka (pictured below), who provided me with a wonderful travel experience….

We were hiking around the island with two friends when we spotted him. I slowly knelt down and snapped the above photo with a zoom lens. The quokka studied me, then hoped over, placed both front paws against my legs and gently leaned into me, peering closely into my camera’s lens (?? for his reflection). After a minute he lost interest in the camera and looked me in the eye, held the gaze for maybe 10 seconds, then hoped away. I have no idea what he was thinking, but it’s one of those special moments I’ll never forget.

Besides seeing quokkas, there’s more to do on Rottnest Island, a nature preserve. There are beautiful beaches rich with marine life, and lovely native flora. You get around the island by walking, riding a bike, or taking the bus service (the island is not huge but it’s handy to use the bus service to get around all of it).