Rottnest Island Quokka & Settlement Walk
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Rottnest Island Quokka & Settlement Walk

Explore Rottnest Island — 19 km off the Perth coast — for the quokkas that made the island famous worldwide through the selfie phenomenon, and the colonial settlement at Thomson Bay where the island's dark history as an Aboriginal prison meets its present as WA's favourite holiday island.

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    Thomson Bay Settlement

    Thomson Bay is the main settlement on Rottnest — the heritage buildings, hotels, and ferry terminal occupy the original site of the Aboriginal prison that held over 3,700 Noongar men from 1838 to 1931, a history now acknowledged alongside the island's holiday identity.

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    Quokka Colony Hotel Area

    The quokkas around the Thomson Bay hotel and settlement are the most approachable in Australia — the small wallabies are entirely habituated to human presence and pose for selfies that have been shared millions of times, making Rottnest Island globally famous.

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    Rottnest Museum

    The Rottnest Museum tells the complete story of Wadjemup — the Noongar name meaning 'place across the water where spirits go' — through displays on the Aboriginal prison, the colonial period, the wartime fortifications, and the natural history of the island.

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    The Quod Aboriginal Prison

    The Quod (from 'quad') is the octagonal building at the heart of the settlement where Aboriginal men were confined — now a hotel, the building's conversion has been controversial, and the adjacent memorial garden acknowledges the deaths of over 370 men held here.

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    Vlamingh Lookout

    Vlamingh Lookout at the highest point of the settlement gives the best overview of Rottnest — the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh named the island Rottenest (Rat's Nest) in 1696 for the quokkas he mistook for rats, and the view shows why French and Dutch navigators sought shelter here.

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    Salt Lake Circuit Walk

    Rottnest Island has eight salt lakes in the interior — the circuit walk between the lakes shows the ecological zones of the island, from coastal heath to salt lake margin to the limestone ridges where quokkas forage in the native scrub.

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