As I stamped on the brakes the bike came to a skidding halt, sliding down the gravel path to within inches of the furry beast in front of me.
The quokka meanwhile, continued to hop across the road and into the bush, oblivious to the near crisis.
Just another day for one of the rat-like residents that gave Rottnest Island its name.
With no cars on the island, bikes are the perfect way to get about. We powered up the gentle hills then free-wheeled down as we travelled between bays.
The beauty of this place is plentiful, with pure white sand beaches, limestone outcrops and stunning bays with no shortage of tropical fish and coral.
Rottnest is served by regular ferries and makes a great day trip, but we took the opportunity to enjoy it for a couple of days by jumping aboard a chartered yacht to get to the island.
As we left the harbour a breeze helped us along and we powered across the Indian Ocean, via the sea lions on Cornac Island, in about two hours.
Once there, snorkelling off the secluded beaches and on organised trips from the main arrival point on the island, we saw spectacular fish and pretty coral, while divers explored the numerous wrecks and cave systems around the coast – and all this just 10 miles from Perth’s buzzing coastal hub of Fremantle.
Just keep an eye out for those pesky ‘rats’.
