Freo

Fremantle is a great place to spend the weekend. We are staying at the Australian backpackers right next to the train station and the harbor. Today we spent the day at Rottnest Island. Stay tune for some great pics! It is about a 2o minute ferry ride to 'Rotty', which was named for the large mammals (think raccoon size) that the dutch sailors thought were rats. Thus 'Rat's nest Island'. They are actually quakkas, a marsupial. They are quite tame and we got very close to the curious guys! We also saw some parrots and lots of water fowl. The island is only 11 km around, but we got very lost and spent a lot of time walking through the dunes. We finally found a beach and got some swimming and sun. I did some snorkeling and saw some incredible kelp and other algae. When I went in the store to buy the snorkle (I had taken my goggles) the clerk asked me where I was from. It turned out that he was from Memphis and had studied for a semester at UT. He listens to all the football games over the internet! It it such a small world.

Tomorrow we are heading off to see some of the historical sites, hopefully Old Fremantle Prison and the History Museum.