Quokka Quokka Quokka Quokka
I'm baaaaack!!
Ha Ha!
Didya miss me? Huh? Didya??
I had a fabulous time, saw so many things I couldn't take it all in.
Which just means I'll have to go back again.....
I arrived back home last night, the plane touched down at 9:15, and it was raining just as I expected it would be.
My daughter and son-in-law were waiting for me and drove me home.
I'd planned on pushing the suitcases into the laundry and leaving all the unpacking until this morning, but I couldn't settle, so got busy putting everything away or into the laundry hamper and finally went to bed at midnight.
I love flying, but gosh it's good to be home.
Now I have to sort through all the photos I took, as well as catch up on all the blog reading I've missed, not to mention a couple of dozen emails.
Here are a few photos to start with, the Quokkas on Rottnest Island.
They're nocturnal creatures, so I wasn't expecting to see many, but there were a few around.
Quokkas have no natural predators on the island, so they don't know fear. These two have become quite tame and happily move about around the tables by the shops where people sit and eat. They even allow themselves to be petted a bit.
There are others that do this, I've heard, but it was close to midday, so they were probably all sleeping somewhere.
They eat the foliage from the scrubby trees, so as we walked around every time we saw some Quokkas, my brother R would break off a sprig and toss it to them. This one looked at us as if to say thanks before he (she?) started eating the greenery.
Here's another one that looked right at the camera for me.
You can see clearly that their tails are smooth, without any fur. This led the first Dutch visitors to believe they were giant rats, which is why the Island was named Rottnest, which means rat nest.
This one was too sleepy to bother with eating or even looking at us.
Ha Ha!
Didya miss me? Huh? Didya??
I had a fabulous time, saw so many things I couldn't take it all in.
Which just means I'll have to go back again.....
I arrived back home last night, the plane touched down at 9:15, and it was raining just as I expected it would be.
My daughter and son-in-law were waiting for me and drove me home.
I'd planned on pushing the suitcases into the laundry and leaving all the unpacking until this morning, but I couldn't settle, so got busy putting everything away or into the laundry hamper and finally went to bed at midnight.
I love flying, but gosh it's good to be home.
Now I have to sort through all the photos I took, as well as catch up on all the blog reading I've missed, not to mention a couple of dozen emails.
Here are a few photos to start with, the Quokkas on Rottnest Island.
They're nocturnal creatures, so I wasn't expecting to see many, but there were a few around.
There are others that do this, I've heard, but it was close to midday, so they were probably all sleeping somewhere.
You can see clearly that their tails are smooth, without any fur. This led the first Dutch visitors to believe they were giant rats, which is why the Island was named Rottnest, which means rat nest.
.png)
Oh quokkas!! How exciting! I haven't seen one in ages!
ReplyDeleteI come from W.A. so am familiar with these little guys at Rottnest :)
They are so very sweet aren't they?
I love how they come right up to you.
On a downside though, this has sadly led to some of them being abused in past years by hideous boys at "schoolies weeks".
Thank you for posting pics of these dear creatures.
Oh yes, we missed you. Welcome back - and thank you for the quokka photos. I loved them when I saw them years ago, and loved the memory jog.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Sounds like you will need to go again. So, when's the next trip? xx
ReplyDeleteVicki; some have been abused by foolish boys?? That's horrible!! Why? Why? I saw nothing like that when I was there, everyone was so nice to these little cuties.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child; thank you. The quokkas are so cute, I could have watched them for hours. Luckily on our way around the island we kept seeing a few here and there.
Kym Piez; next trip won't be for a while, it took me a year to save for this one. Luckily I stayed at my brother's home with him and his lovely partner, so I didn't have hotel expenses to deal with.
Hi again River. Why? Why do stupid people do stupid things?
ReplyDeleteAnd when some idiots get full of drink, they're even worse.
The "incidents" happened years ago.
When we lived in Perth, heard stories on the local news about drunken louts kicking these poor sweet things around, and I quote, "like footballs".
I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen these days. I truly hope not.
Of course, we missed you! I'm glad you had a good time, but welcome back.
ReplyDeleteThose little quokkas are adorable. I never even heard of them before. Looking forward to seeing some more of your pictures.
Welcome back! Thanks for my introduction to Quokkas. How did they come by that name?
ReplyDeleteHey, welcome back. Of course we missed you.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Mimsie do a piece on Quokkas in her A to Z? Cute as they are, I don't think I'd be petting them. A wild creature is still wild no matter how cute.
I'm happy for your upbeat, positive life and all the pleasures you get from life. Wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had no natural predators. Wouldn't that be great to be able to walk anywhere alone in a big city without fear as we were able to do 60 years ago? Those lucky little guys. I'd never heard of them before. Well, that's not so strange. There is a lot of things I've never heard of. Ha
Hi River,
ReplyDeleteQuokka - that name is so Australian!
:-)
Cheers
PM
Glad you are back. I never seen quokkas. They do look cute.
ReplyDeleteThey are sweet little things but they do look a bit like giant rats, I can understand the mistake.
ReplyDeleteMerle.............
What a cute little face.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're back, I baked a cake.
Sweet! Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteVicki; I certainly didn't see any mistreatment while I was there.
ReplyDeleteSusan; I have plenty more, just not many of the Quokkas. I need to go through them all and add my name.
Joanne Noragon; I have no idea how they came by that name.
Delores; I think she did. These little ones are so tame, especially the ones that hang around by the shops. Little kids were petting them.
Manzanita; the Quokkas are on an island 19km off the WA coast, it's a nature/conservation area which has never had any Quokka predators. Living on the island is not allowed although there is holiday accomodation, but absolutely no pets of any kind are allowed.
Plasman; it's very Australian. Now Joanne has me wondering how the name came about.
Andrew; they are very cute. You'll have to visit Rottnest and see them properly.
Merlesworld; I expect those first Dutch visitors didn't hang around long enough to see they weren't giant rats, they had a quick look, saw the hairless tails and took off.
JahTeh; you baked a cake?? Did you send me a slice? I'd better go and check my PO box.....
Happy Elf Mom; thanks. the Quokkas almost look like you could cuddle them.
So glad you made it over to "Rotto" and met some of the lovely little quokkas. I spent several great holidays on the island with my two children and their father (my first husband). I've not been over there for 30 years or more so am sure there have been lots of changes.
ReplyDeleteNot only are no pets allowed on the island but no vehicles either apart from those that belong there.
Once again, thank you for sharing your holiday.
Mimsie; there was no way in the world I was going to miss Rotto. I'd like to stay in one of the holiday apartments one day, but I fear they're far out of my budget.
ReplyDelete