The Happiest Marsupial alive?

This particular Quokka shot is my favourite purely because it's a mother proudly showing off her baby, which is safely tucked in her pouch. What more can be said about how special that is? She came hopping straight up, bold as can be as soon as I kneeled down near her. She sat up and smiled, eyes glittering with happiness! With a greeting like that, how could anyone have a bad day? Not only did she pose for a few photos, with a nice quiet baby behaving in her pouch (she must be a super mother!), but even obligingly looked up at the camera for a quick social media selfie with me as well.

The journey to get this photo was a comparatively long one considering I’ve lived in Perth, only a short ferry ride from Rottnest Island, for well over a decade. Post-lockdown, but unable to leave my state, a local holiday to visit my own backyard was in order. I've always been a little ashamed that I'd never been to Rottnest Island and visited the Quokkas. It was so awkward to travel halfway across the world, mention at a cafe in Norway that I'm from Perth, and find out the barista’s most memorable experience in my home state of Western Australia is the Quokkas on Rottnest Island- a place I'd never been to despite living so close! I’d always intended to go at some point, but the lure of overseas travel made me complacent about visiting places in my own backyard, after all, I could go at any time.

But last year, with travel restrictions firmly in place, but knowing I needed an opportunity to rest and relax, I finally took the ferry ride over to Rottnest Island. My sole aim was to visit the cheerful inhabitants that it's famous for.

They didn't disappoint! They know they're the stars, and they bask in the opportunity to inspect visitors. Not to mention they clearly know how to strike a pose to get their most photogenic side photographed! With the grins on their little faces being so infectious, you can't help but smile - just what the doctor ordered in a pandemic-affected year. It is a truly healing experience to relax on an island filled with inhabitants that make you smile.

You’re not allowed to pat or feed the Quokkas, who are quite able to take care of themselves (admittedly they did take advantage of me kneeling to come up and scrutinize the contents of my shoulder bag- just in case there was anything edible in there). Although it is pretty hard to resist giving them everything they ask for when they look at you with such a cheeky delighted grin.

It’s not an elusive hunt for Quokkas on Rottnest- around the island settlement they can be found everywhere! You can’t turn around without spotting another one, which is great because it leaves endless opportunities for photos. I don’t believe anyone can go to Rottnest without getting at least one photo of a Quokka. Usually, you’d find it a lot harder to get that perfect shot without also getting a bit of someone else in the shot, as normally Rottnest Island is a high traffic tourist attraction crowded with people. If there was one benefit of the state being closed and not allowing people to travel across the border it was that there was barely anyone on Rottnest! A nice ferry ride with only a handful of people travelling over, and nobody to get in the way of my photos- brilliant! I was also the only one on some of the guided tours of sections of the island, which the volunteer guides had never had before.

This was a perfect day that really helped me destress, relax and restore myself during a high stress, upset time in the world. The photo shows how even in times of mass death and pandemics in the world, you can find something to smile about.