We had been in Perth for over one month and had not yet had the chance to experience Perth’s beautiful beaches. We took the opportunity to take my Dad to Rottnest Island, which are supposed to have great beaches.

About the board the boat to Rottnest Island

Now Dad has a problem walking and can manage up to 400 meters in a day. To see what we wanted to see in Rottnest we would need to cover up to 2 kms so we hired a bike for Dad.

First stop on Rottnest, the lighthouse.

After the lighthouse we made to the closest beach.

Beach next to the lighthouse.

Nigel in the refreshing water

Though as in much of the Western Australian waters there are dangerous animals.

Dangerous creature leaving the water

After a quick dip in the water, while sunbathing we heard some shouting coming from the water. Dad had slipped from the edge of the water to the next level and gone under. Luckily there were a couple of Grandmas close by who rescued him and carried him out of the water.

Grant rescued by the Grandmas

There were three elderly ladies who all took a strong interest in Grant, but he never exchanged contact details.

Grant’s new girlfriends

After Dad’s near death escape we returned to where his bike was parked. Dad found a clever place next to some bushes to change out of his swim suit. Next to us was a young family and the next thing we heard was “Mummy what’s that man doing next to the bushes” and the mother replied “Oh he’s just …. Oh my God, let’s get out of here”. Dad’s hiding space was not so hidden after all.

Due to internet censorship we were unable to show the following photo.

Dad then went ahead on his bike while I was waiting for June. The plan was for us to catch up to him and have some lunch and a rest. But at the eating area Dad was no where to be found. I then spent an hour searching around the small village but no sign of Dad. The ferry  would be leaving soon and still no sign of Dad, so I called the Western Australian police and was giving them details of Dad’s last known location just as Dad appeared hot and dishevelled. He had cycled around the meeting area to virtually the other side of the island.

Relieved we had found him, we manage our way to the port and managed to catch our ferry back to Fremantle with me questioning myself whether it had been a good idea to bring Dad to Rottnest.