Saturday I took a trip with other international students out to Rottnest Island. It took an hour ferry ride down the Swan River and another half an hour across the ocean to get there. Surprisingly though, the ferry ride did not make me sea sick. The whole day was overcast, but it was still fairly warm out. Once getting to the island, we got out bike rentals (there are no motor vehicles allowed on the island except a couple public buses and one small train). We rode the bikes for a few minutes in order to catch the train that would take us to an old military fort during WWII. We had a tour of the fort, including one of two large guns (that luckily never had to be fired) and the underground tunnels with the engine room. After catching the train back to our bikes, me and two other students decided to go find food and explore (we had a couple hours to waste before having to meet back up at the ferry). Naser, from Saudi Arabia, Richard, from Portugal, and I asked the group leader where a good place to go exploring was. And after eating some lunch, the three of us headed out to The Basin. Once getting there we still had plenty of time, and after dipping my feet in the water, I decided it was time to have my first swim in the Indian Ocean since being in Australia. Although it was overcast, the water was definitely bearable. The three of us had a nice little swim at The Basin, rinsed off at the showers and headed on our way back to the ferry. Ten hours after the start of the trip, I was finally home. It was a very long, allergy-ridden day, but worth every penny! I finally got my first swim in! YAY!
