Drinks Digest has visited Rottnest Island twice in recent years, once on a day trip and more recently for a two-night stopover. Our advice: treat yourself to a sleepover.

Rottnest Island is located 30 minutes off the coast of Perth and is famous for being home to the world’s whose appeal is enhanced by the fact they appear to smile when visitors take selfies with them.

By day, Rottnest is crammed with tourists taking endless quokka selfies. And while there are a few hungry quokkas hanging out around the bakery and cafe, most are sleeping. At dusk, when the tourists have departed, the quokkas come out to play and are literally EVERYWHERE.

The island is also developing a reputation as a foodie destination. The enhanced offering is being led by the Prendiville Group, which operates venues including Samphire Rottnest, restaurants Lontara and Isola Bar e Cibo and Hotel Rottnest.

We chose to stay at Samphire during our two-night visit and kicked off our stay with delicious Pineapple Margaritas – Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila, Triple Sec, pineapple syrup, mango syrup and lime juice – from Samphire’s Bayside Bar.

At dusk we wandered over to picturesque The Basin and Pinky’s Beach, overlooked by one of the island’s two lighthouses. Pinky’s Beach has a reputation for being the best place on the island to watch the sun dip over the ocean. We dived into the crystal clear water to cool off, then settled into the beachside bar at Pinky’s Beach Club to sip Aperol Spritzes as quokkas milled around us.

It was a beautiful way to spend an evening, however, our favourite culinary and mixology moment from the trip was sipping Limoncello Spritzes while enjoying a seafood lunch at Isola Bar e Cibo.

We dined on wood-grilled whole Exmouth prawns with crayfish butter, capers and lemon, followed by taglierini pasta with Shark Bay crab, tomato, chilli, garlic, basil and cream. Make sure to order a serve of the house-made focaccia to mop up all the delicious juices!

Read more about our visit to Rottnest Island here.

Is Cloud 9 the best bar in Fiji?