Australian.Geographic_2014_01-02

January–February 2014 41 Peak hour at daytripper heaven. Thomson Bay’s main jetty (above) is where mainland ferries arrive and d ...

42 Australian Geographic combing its 63 sandy beaches – or pedal-pushing along scrubby, limestone ridges – that it’s held in gre ...

January–February 2014 43 ROTTNEST ISLAND  K NOWN AS Wadjemup, or “place across the water”, by the Noongar people, Rottnest Islan ...

44 Australian Geographic ...

January–February 2014 45 Why go elsewhere? An RIA survey suggested there were about 46,000 boat visits to the island in 2009–10. ...

46 Australian Geographic Work on this $8 million, 50km track began in July 2013 and, when fi nished, it will circumnavigate the ...

January–February 2014 47  D ESPITE THE fascination for Rottnest’s iconic furry marsupial, there’s been no significant research o ...

48 Australian Geographic April 1945, all Thomson Bay buildings had been vacated by the military except the bakehouse and garage. ...

January–February 2014 49 volunteers and their goodwill extends to the preservation of Rottnest’s culture. Wearing their signatur ...

50 Australian Geographic The cost of holidaying on Rottnest is a hotly debated issue and West Australians claim it is moving bey ...

January–February 2014 51 Sunset at The Basin. The visitors have left, the holidaymakers have retreated to their villas and the i ...

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54 Australian Geographic  I T’S AN IDYLLIC spring morning on More- ton Bay, southern Queensland, and the clear skies make for pe ...

Tracking mermaids. University of Queensland researchers restrain an adult at the the water’s surface so that it can be measured ...

56 Australian Geographic  T HE DUGONG IS the only surviving species in the family Dugongidae. There was one other modern member ...

January–February 2014 57 Hydrodamalis gigas Unlike its surviving relatives, the man- atees and dugong, this slow-moving herbivor ...

58 Australian Geographic entirely of seagrass, and adults can consume more than 25kg a day. Because of this and their cumbersome ...

Air supply. The valves that keep dugong nostrils clear of water while they are submerged retract fully when the animals surface ...

Sea cowboys. Wearing protective helmets, Merrick Ekins, left, and Ben Schemel from the Queensland University dugong research tea ...