After the Rottnest Marathon: Wadjemup by Bus

The Route: Thomson Bay → The Basin → Wadjemup Museum → West End viewpoints → Thomson Bay Logistics: No ferry is needed if you are already staying on the island. The Island Explorer hop-on hop-off bus loops between the settlement, the bays and the lighthouses. Check the current timetable, fares and seasonal operation with the island's visitor centre. Marathon Month: June Duration: Day trip

Thomson Bay ──(Island Explorer bus)──> The Basin ──(bus)──> Wadjemup Lighthouse and West End
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      └────────────(bus back to the settlement)<───────────────────────────┘

The Wadjemup Rottnest Running Festival marathon is four laps of the island's roads, which means a runner already knows the settlement, the northern bays and the wind better than most visitors. The day after, that knowledge is best put to use from a bus seat. The island is only a few kilometres wide, but it is rolling and exposed, and cycling it on marathon legs is a bad idea.

June on Wadjemup: winter. The average range is roughly 13.5 to 18.8°C and about 100 mm of rain falls in the month, so expect showers and a brisk wind on the west end. The island is green and quiet. Quokkas are active around the settlement in winter, and visitors must not feed, touch or give them water. Whales may pass offshore, but the island's own guidance places the main Perth migration season in August to December, so June sightings are a bonus and not a plan.

Start in the settlement, which is level and paved. Wadjemup Museum is close to Thomson Bay and gives context that the run never does: the island's long history as a place of Noongar significance, its use as a colonial prison for Aboriginal men, and its later life as a holiday destination. It is indoors and unhurried, and check the current opening hours before you go.

Board the bus for The Basin, a sheltered bay on the north coast that is reached by a short, sealed walk from the stop and has clear water. In June the sea is too cold for most swimmers, so treat it as a place to sit and look. The bus continues to the West End, where Wadjemup Lighthouse and the viewing points look across to open ocean. The paths at the viewpoints are short but can be steep in places, so check the terrain and take a seat on the bus if the legs complain.

Take lunch in the settlement. Dôme Rottnest sits beside the finish area, and Hotel Rottnest is the island's gathering place. Both keep seasonal hours in winter, so check them the day before.

The bus returns to Thomson Bay through the afternoon. If you are catching the ferry back to Fremantle or Perth, check the last sailing and leave a generous buffer, because winter weather can disrupt crossings. Carry a windproof layer for the deck.