A quokka bit me!

Watch out for the fangs!

It was 10 or so days back and Amy and I were trying hard to befriend one of the fat-arsed marsupials that live on Rottnest island (here's a cute, close-up photo of one). When a Dutch explorer discovered the island in 1696, he mistook the quokkas as king-sized rats, thus it's name, in English, 'rats nest'. So for us it was essential to track some down and coax them out for photographs.

It was all going fine until the little bugger bit my finger. No blood was drawn, but for a moment I thought that the 120 quid I shelled out for rabies jabs might have been worth it.

Where are we? We're currently staying in Coral Bay and settled here after a six-day tour up the west coast with an excellent local company called Red Earth Safaris. Coral Bay is small, with one hostel, a few shops, two cafes, a pub and a couple of restaurants. Today was the first day that it's been cool enough to lay in the sun on the beach - it's unbelievably hot here and reached 46C yesterday.

Yesterday we got up early to see reef sharks and sand sharks from the shore, before wading out to get close to them. It's perfectly safe, Mum - they're very timid and scatter at the slightest movement.

We haven't seen many computers, which is why the blog has become neglected, but we'll try and upload a few photos and write some more before we leave on Friday. Otherwise, just take it that we're having a good time and are too busy to write.