It just rolls off the tongue—“Rottnest”—doesn’t it? To make matters worse, it is actually Dutch for Rat’s Nest, because early settlers thought the Quokkas that inhabited the island were rats. More on them later.

We tried and failed to get moving this morning. Millie learned how to make coffee for us which was a real treat. She made me three cups before I had to cut her off from the nespresso machine.

She spent some time working on her book. As always, I’m blown away by her drawings and how they evolve. Her latest thing is very detailed fashion.

We did eventually get to the ferry dock by 10:30. We bought our tickets for the 20 minute ferry to the island, and I almost passed out from sticker shock. I will stop complaining about prices because I know it’s boring to read about, but today just about had me booking some one-way tickets back to Thailand. Parking was $10, the round trip ferry was $120, our bike rental (the only way to get around) was $60, and lunch was $60. This is all converted to USD. Free activities only starting tomorrow. Okay, I’m done with the complaints.

The ferry was wavy but quick. We had some trouble finding where to rent bikes but got it all figured out. We set off on the loop of the island. Millie rode in a trailer than Nick reluctantly towed. It was beautiful but way hillier than we expected, and Nick had to get off and walk a few times because the big rig was just too tough to get up the hills. We have got to get her on her own two wheels.

Our first stop was Little Salmon Bay. The water was crystal clear but much colder than we’re used to. Millie and I took a dip but didn’t last long. Nick snorkeled around the bay until he couldn’t take the cold either.

We got back on our bikes and continued our loop back to town, past the big lighthouse and salt lakes in the middle of the island.

We had a very delicious lunch. Whenever I do strenuous activity, I motivate myself by thinking about how much better food will taste. And today it really did. Millie was in a great mood and we had a fun lunch.

At lunch we spotted our first Quokkas. They are adorable (?) little rat-koala-kangaroo things.

After lunch we biked north on the island and they were everywhere.

We stopped at Pinky beach to swim and play in the sand. Clouds had rolled in so it felt too cold to swim, but Millie and I built a sandcastle for a while.

We felt some raindrops and headed to the closest cafe to wait them out. We watched the Winter Olympics even though it’s summer here. Southern hemisphere erasure.

Quokkas hopped around us everywhere. They started to get less cute and more rat like to me. One had diarrhea next to my foot and then dragged it around with its tail. Another ate a full napkin. Entertaining nonetheless.

The rain stopped and we returned the bikes. We got on a full ferry and took naps for the 20 minutes ride back to the mainland. I couldn’t stand to spend another dollar, so I hobbled together a “snack plate” dinner with what we had in the fridge. I love dinners like this.

Millie did more drawing and I watched the Bad Bunny halftime show. Loved it.