Quokkas on Rottnest Island

You will almost certainly see quokkas on Rottnest Island: the small marsupials live all over it, and many shelter in the shade around the settlement at Thomson Bay. You may look and photograph them, but touching, petting and feeding them is not allowed. If you would like a guide to point them out on a tour of the whole island, SeaLink’s Grand Island Package is a four-hour guided tour with lunch, from US$147 a person (checked October 2026), rated 4.5 from 461 reviews; one guest this February wrote that the guide “found the quokkas for us”.

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What a quokka is

A quokka is a small marsupial of the wallaby family, with a round face, short rounded ears and a short tail, and a mouth that gives it the look of a smile. Females carry their young in a pouch. The island is named after them: in 1696 the Dutch navigator Willem de Vlamingh called it ’t Eylandt ’t Rottenest, “rats’ nest island”, because he took the quokkas for large rats. The Noongar name for the island is Wadjemup.

Where to see them

Everywhere, but most reliably in the shade. Around the settlement at Thomson Bay, under the trees by the shops and cafes, is where most visitors meet their first one, and guests on every tour on this site mention them. One guest on Rottnest Express’ ferry and bike day wrote of riding “amongst many adorable quokkas”, and another on the ferry and bike trip from Perth said there were lots of them “especially where the restaurants are”.

The rules: why you cannot touch or feed them

The Rottnest Island Authority asks visitors not to touch or feed the wildlife, and says touching and petting the quokkas is not permitted. Every plant and animal on the island is protected. Quokkas eat plants, and the authority says human food can give them digestive problems and changes how they forage; feeding wildlife on the island can bring an on-the-spot fine. So keep your lunch in your bag, sit down at their level for a photo rather than reaching out, and never pick one up.

Are quokkas only on Rottnest?

No. Rottnest has the largest population, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 animals in a 2007 count, and there is a smaller one on Bald Island near Albany. On the mainland they survive in scattered pockets of the south-west of Western Australia, such as Two Peoples Bay and the forests around Walpole, where they are much harder to see. The species is listed as vulnerable. For a reliable sighting, Rottnest is the place.

The selfie

The famous quokka selfie is allowed, as long as you do not touch, feed or chase the animal. Crouch down, keep a little distance, and let it come to you, or not. Rottnest Fast Ferries’ bike and ferry day lists “meet a smiling quokka and snap a selfie” among its highlights; on a bike you will pass dozens.

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Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.

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