I recently visited Rottnest Island for a short holiday. The island is a small outcrop of limestone a short 30 minute ferry trip from Perth, Western Australia. The island consists of multiple limestones and is a great example of landscape evolution over time. The Geological Survey of Western Australia has published a short handbook on the geology of the island and it can be downloaded in PDF here. One of my favorite outcrops from this trip is the tiny limestone stack pictured below. There are two key features of this photo. 1) the ospray nest with both parents purched onto and 2) the meter high cross beds in the limestone which indicate the eolian origins (windblown sand dunes) of this specific limestone.
You cannot visit Rottnest Island without meetin a Quokka. This marsupial is only found on a few select islands off the coast of Western Australia as it is susceptible to predation by dingos, cats and dogs. In a way, the island is named after the Quokkas by the white colonialists who thought they were a large specimen of rat. Though they are nocturnal, a few insomniacs can be found around the main human settlement begging tourists for illicit snacks and thieving anything they can get their cute little paws on.
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