#53 My last day in Australia

Hi Everyone My visit to Rottnest Island was eventful. My brother, Walter, and I had a small cottage facing the Indian Ocean. It was lovely weather, well at least for me. It was warm and I opted for NOT renting a bicycle but taking the bus. The two walking tours were cancelled due to the heat. The Quokkas tour was cancelled and the area where they are usually seen resulted with tourists reporting finding four dead ones. The Quokka is a miniature Kangaroo. But we saw a lovely sunset. Fixed ourselves sandwiches for dinner because the price of everything was inflated. A cup of regular coffee cost AUS $5.00. I needed my coffee so I bought one anyway. The finale to our trip was Walter dehydrating and needing to go to the First Aide Center. I got my first ride ever in an ambulance. And it was amazing how everyone on the bus were so helpful when Walter wasn't feeling well... first the bus driver gave us a bottle of water, then a really COLD bottle of water appeared, and then someone had ICE in a plastic bag which we put on his head. It was when we arrived in the Town Center that the EMT arrived, helped him out, and we took the ambulance ride to the First Aide and he was given 3 drip bags of fluid. He knew he received an infusion but he didn't know he received 3 of them. We made it to the ferry on time and my brother drove home but end of story is that he returned to the hospital the next day by ambulance and I didn't go with him this time. In fact, the neighbors took me to the airport to catch my flight to India, where I am right now. I did have a good time in Australia. I'm the type who sees the glass half full so it was a good trip, even with all the excitement. Here are a few photos of Rottnest Island and quite representative of Australia in general. Beautiful water, clean beach. The Aussies know how to handle the sun, with the exception of my brother. And I am not picking on my brother; he has had a lot on his mind lately so I give him some slack. In the photo with the bicycles to the left of the photo, notice the little tent in the center of the photo. Everyone has these that they pop up and they keep themselves and the little ones out of the sun except for when they are in the water. They are very light and fold up into little carrying packs. You use the sand in built in pouches for the weight to hold the tent from blowing away. Let me post this and then I will do another posting for my return to India. Take care everyone. Love, Marie