Scuba divers know Rottnest Island as one of the islands where shipwrecks are numerous and diving is superb.

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Rottnest Island, often shortened to Rotto or Rottnest, is a popular holiday island located just west of Perth and Freemantle. It was named Wadjemup by the Noongar people which means something as 'place across the water'. Rottnest can get crowded during leavers week (students celebrating passing their exams) but with this many remote white sand beaches, crystal clear lagoons, pristine bays and warm waters there is always a spot to relax completely. Most visitors will reside in Thomson Bay and have excellent opportunities from there to explore the breathtaking bays Longreach Bay, Little Parakeet Bay, Kingstown Bay, Geordie Bay or bring a visit to Wallace Island and Dyer Island.

The main activities are all water based, from swimming, beaching to kite surfing, diving and snorkeling. There is enough entertainment and nightlife with plenty of bars and clubs. Its interior supports for great guided tracks, in pine trees covered woodlands, scenic flights and sights of the endemic marsupial quokka. The name Rottnest is probably coming from the Dutch discoverer Willem de Vlamingh who mistook the quokka for huge rats and called the island rats nest. You can learn more about the island in the Rottnest Museum or visit one of its lighthouses; one on Wadjemup Hill and Bathurst Lighthouse in the north. The Brett Heady's Family Fun Park makes for a great day out or you can take a look at one of its many scattered salt lakes. Rottnest Island played a significant role during WWII and there are still the remains of military barracks, the Oliver Hill and Bickley Batteries, observation posts and buildings that once served as a prisoners of war camp for Aboriginals.

Rottnest Island is without doubt popular because of its more than 60 white pristine beaches and its turquoise colored waters. These waters boast with marine life and coral formations. There are more than ten wrecks around the island with six wrecks located in Thomson Bay alone. Not many divers expect such beauty and diversity this far south around Rottnest Island.

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