Fremantle is only 20 minutes south from Perth on the above-ground-underground train, which was quite handy, as my backpack weighs a tonne. The weather is back to sunny normal and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as I walked down ‘Cappuccino Strip’ to my hostel.

The main attraction in terms of sightseeing in Fremantle is the prison, a UNESCO Heritage site that was in full working order up until 1991. I walked over there after dumping my bag, and took the ‘Doing Time’ tour.

Our guide Brendan showed us the working of the prison, the gallows and the yards. The cells are tiny and there are no toilets – prisoners had to go in buckets that were emptied in the morning. It must have been absolutely disgusting in there at the time, but interesting now to walk around and hear the history.

From there I walked down towards the harbour and Bathers Beach, had some fish and chips then walked round the boardwalk and back for a cup of tea on the main strip. It’s a lovely little town, especially in the sunshine.

Today I was up early again and took the 7.30am ferry to Rottnest Island. ‘Rotto’ is about 30 minutes offshore and it’s a holiday favourite with the locals. I hired a bike as there are some good trails right around the island and it’s fairly flat – today though was the Tour de Perth, held on Rotto, so I had to pay attention to where I was peddling so I didn’t cause a crash.

I followed the road round and ended up cycling about 20 km all together. It was fine on the legs but the hire bike had definitely seen better days, and my bum is killing from the man saddle.

 

It took the morning to cycle the loop and then I lay down in a tiny bit of shade on Pinky Beach for the afternoon.

The island is really stunning and although it was busy by the jetty where the cafes are, five minutes on the road with the bike and you are all alone (except for the odd pro cyclist whizzing by). I arrived on the finish line at the same time as 6th place – I think I had a 2 hour head start though!