It was all a mistake, really.

In 1696, understandably sunburnt after months at sea in the Indian Ocean, and before charting the west coast of the southern land later to be known as Australia, the Dutch explorers who discovered Rottnest Island found it overrun by large rat-like creatures, so they called the place “rott enest” (rat’s nest). Little did they know that the island already had an aboriginal name: Wadjemup (the place across the water).

The oversized rats were really marsupials — quokkas — and, roaming across the island at large, including the more populated areas, they are one of the island’s peak attractions.

Our kids, Siobhan (eight years) and Alexander (five), could hardly wait to track them down as soon as we landed at the jetty after the smooth, 30-minute ferry trip from Fremantle, Australia. And my wife Cherie, once she’d had her caffeine fix, was prepared to join the pursuit of quokkas.

A Rottnest Island quokka munches on vegetation.

Quokkas are actually more the size of a domestic cat, and their numbers on Rottnest can vary considerably, depending on the availability of food, but they average about 10,000, far outnumbering the local human population.

They forage on the leaves and bark of small trees and bushes, and will also eat grass and other succulent plants.

We were on a weekend stopover, which we hoped would be a relief from the January heat on the mainland. Our Fremantle hosts suggested it as an essential part of our three-week tour of the west coast, and since we’re from Brisbane — about as far east as you can be from here, we took the advice.

We grabbed a few muffins and drinks from the café at the Visitor and Information Centre in Thomson Bay, better known as The Settlement, and just made it to the Bayseeker Bus stop in time for the next bus. The bus allows passengers to hop on and off at will at any of 16 stops, and you can spend time at a particular stop until the next bus rolls up on the half hour, or walk to meet it at the next stop.

Rottnest Island Tours offers a more formal two-hour coach tour for a family price of AUD $52.80 (USD $39). No cars are allowed on the island, so all transportation is by bus or bicycle.

The island is only seven miles long (11 km) and three miles (4.5 km) at its widest, but the terrain can be a bit rugged, especially if you have kids in tow, so we decided to stop first at Watson’s Glade. Via a smooth limestone track, we walked through a mixed forest of tea trees and wattle trees. The trail led us to spectacular ocean views at the southernmost point on the island, Parker Point, where rugged limestone outcrops are hammered by surf.

Bird watchers will see red-capped robins and golden whistlers here. This area, as well as nearby Little Salmon Bay and Salmon Point, features some of the best snorkeling on the island.

In the waters here, snorkelers can spot tropical fish such as the West Australian dhufish, baldchin groper, harlequin fish, cobbler, flathead, leatherjacket, Samson fish, tailor, butterfly fish, moon wrasse and Eastern blue devil.