Little Parakeet Bay
Rottnest Island
Directions - Little Parakeet Bay is found on the north side of Rottnest Island on Little Parakeet Road. Getting out there can be done by bike (head west from the main settlement towards Geordie Bay) or if you are taking the Island Explorer Bus then get off at Stop #18, and walk to the end of Little Parakeet Road.
The Snorkel - With a visit to Rottnest Island as part of the Festival of 1A1R, we had enjoyed a beautiful snorkel at Little Salmon Bay in the morning, before riding to Geordie Bay for an ice-cream (can recommend the Kuld Creamery van) and beverage by the water. With Jen and Aron staying on the island for a week, they were in no rush, and I was only looking at getting in one more snorkel for the day anyway. After ice-cream, we headed back to their accommodation, as they wanted to show me what you get for the arm and a leg it costs to stay there.
With plenty of time left in the day, we headed to Pinky's Beach Club for lunch, enjoying the ambiance while we planned out the rest of the afternoon. Jen wasn't quite keen on another snorkel, so without the requirement for a beginner area, I consulted my Snorkellers' Guide to Rottnest Island to find a spot close to Pinkys that was suitable for when the winds was blowing from the south west. It was a toss-up between Little Armstrong Bay and Little Parakeet Bay, both relatively close, but in the end it was decided that Little Parakeet Bay was the winner, because we'd never snorkelled there before. Heading back to their cabin, Jen setup for a nap, while Aron and I gathered our gear for round two in the water. The short ride out there was good fun, passing The Basin that was super busy, and eventually we were in the small bike parking area overlooking the bay. While it's one of many perfect little beaches dotted around the island, it was still quite popular when we arrived.
Grabbing our gear and walking down the stairs, we found a spot along the small limestone cliffs to leave our bags, and set about putting on semi-wet rashies. Almost forgetting my underwater camera, I hurried back to retrieve it, before meeting Aron back in the water. The shallow bay is a great place to sit down in the water and put on your gear, made much easier by the warmer temperatures of the afternoon. The shallowness gives way to the bulky mass of blocks of limestone reef, and the general plan was to hug the western side of the bay and then do a big loop off the beach. Initially there wasn't much to see, a few common fish varieties, and annoyingly the visibility wasn't as spectacular as Little Salmon Bay. We hit the edge of the reef eventually, and decided to start looping around when all we could see was bare sand to the west. Heading out over deeper water, the reef formations got bigger, and this was turning into a more enjoyable snorkel. With plenty of fish species about, I dived down to see what was lurking at the bottom of the reef, but my lack of snorkelling over the summer let me down.
Luckily Aron spotted something special lurking about, and it turned out to be a Striped Stingaree, who was happy to pose for a couple of photos before heading into the safety of some nearby grasses. Adding to the lovely finds, we were floating above one of the large structures, and I noticed a nudibranch feasting among the various grasses. Our second nudibranch of the day, it's always nice to see these colourful little wonders. Heading east from the reef, we hit a patch of seagrass on our way to the eastern part of the bay. Rather than be a barren stretch, there were a lot of fish hanging around, but the big treat was up ahead. I was busy taking photos of all the fish I was seeing, and I saw Aron captivated by something. It turned out to be a battle scarred Southern Eagle Ray, and it was quite the experience seeing it swim between us both, before heading off into the ether. Having seen a couple of different rays, and a nudibranch had already made this a fun snorkel, but we still had the eastern side of the bay to explore. With the bounty we had seen already, I stuck to the open grasses when we reached the reef on the eastern side.
This was a great decision, as another Striped Stingaree (or perhaps the same one) was lurking in the grass, and a large Dusky Morwong passed by. Aron was quite content to stick to the shallow reef, but I kept being drawn out to the deep structures further north. Although visibility was even worse out here, I thought the chances of seeing something cool was greater. The currents were strong, and the seaweed thick, and in the end the best thing I saw was a Hutchins' Blenny that wasn't too keen on coming out of his little hidey hole, along with a small school of an undescribed Pempheris species, at least according to the experts on iNaturalist. Eventually I headed back to the shallower waters to find Aron, and hugged the edge of the limestone cliffs. Spotting a Blue-barred Parrotfish was the highlight here, and given I had a ferry to catch, I decided to head back to the beach. Aron was there waiting like a statue, so I took some photos. Not a bad couple of snorkels to celebrate the Festival of 1A1R, and it's definitely got me thinking of getting one of the special 10 pack ferry passes for next summer.
Final Thoughts - Rottnest is a pretty special place, and structuring your day around a couple of snorkels, with time for bike riding and eating is a great way to make the most of your day.
While we didn't get the greatest visibility, the stingrays, nudibranch, and all the fish certainly made up for that.
With a myriad of small bays to explore, I highly recommend getting the Snorkellers' Guide to Rottnest Island (available at the Chart and Map Shop in Fremantle). It's a great guide, and the section listing the best places to visit during various wind conditions is a lovely feature.
Get out there and experience it!
If you've found this page or the website helpful and you want to show your support then consider making a small donation by visiting our Ko-fi page. You can give as little as a dollar with no sign-up required and everything will be put towards the website, creating new content and promoting the trail community.